Dancing Once Again
It was a short call, as far as phone calls go.
The message was quick.
The point was received even more quickly.
A once tough veteran of the Second World War, a Navy man, a family man, a follower of Jesus, passed away this morning.
I hung up the phone and let my kids know as we drove onto school today, the music of Delirious? forming the soundtrack to the narration that we each listened to in our heads. After I had pulled into a parking space outside the school, I turned off the engines and asked each of the kids who wanted to start our morning prayer for the day.
Both declined.
So I started it…in silence…attempting to gather the words for what was going to be a difficult morning prayer. My voice cracked as I fumbled through the requests for protection and wisdom in our days, but the tears began to flow only when I thanked Jesus for the life now passed into eternity, his frail body, which required a walker for mobility, now healed, dancing once again in the streets, reunited with family and with the One Who Saved Us.
I turned to look at the kids, each crying openly, wiping their tears with the sleeves of their sweatshirts. They understood the finality of the life we will miss, but each knew that this man, who they had greeted every Sunday with hugs, was now experiencing a joy that we hope to one day have.
I thought back a couple of years to the time when I had visited them on my own after he and his wife had had a sustained absence from our fellowship. Our church family was in discussions to merge with another church family, and I wanted to give each of them the information about the proposed merger. His words will never leave me.
“If this is what Jesus wants, then it’s what I want.”
May my faith (and yours) be that simple.
Wayne, I’m glad to have known you on this side of eternity. Until we meet again.
2 Responses to “Dancing Once Again”
Other Links to this Post
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
By Page, April 28, 2009 @ 6:27 am
Rest in peace, Wayne. You will be missed.
By Will Robison, April 28, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Amen brother… a fine epitaph for another saint!