Farewell To A Friend

 

I was at work about two weeks ago when my wife called me to tell me that a former pastor of mine had passed away.  Like all news of this nature, it is sad and heavy and starts your mind thinking of your mortality and how brief and fleeting this life is.  News like this makes you take inventory of your life.  Is what you are doing meaningful and do you make an impact on others?  Do the things you invest your time in pay eternal dividends?

Charlie was my pastor when we lived in Kinder and attended the First Methodist Church there.  When my newborn son had a life-threatening illness, he rode with me to Children's Hospital in New Orleans and prayed with us, standing by our side in the toughest of times.  His heart was so big and he thought nothing of sacrificing his time to meet our spiritual needs.

He was a voracious reader and his sermons were always so well-researched and interesting!  A brilliant student of history, and a fantastic storyteller, Charlie incorporated interesting examples and thought provoking points to open our hearts to the teachings of Jesus.  He challenged us to live for Christ.  I still remember how he taught us that the word BELIEVE in the Bible (Acts 16:31) is the Greek word pisteuo, which means to entrust, rely on, and is more than just mental assent.

He and his beautiful family lived just down the road from the family grocery store that we managed.  It could be a stressful job at times and Charlie could sense that.  I was young and idealistic and probably immature in a whole lot of ways.  Charlie would walk over and ask me to sit with him in a swing under a big oak tree behind the store.  He would pull out a worn copy of C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters and read a chapter to me.  We would discuss the topic in the day's letter and then he would pray with me.

He was so thoughtful, so intelligent, so giving.  I'm not the only one who thought this.  The whole community, even those who didn't attend his services highly respected him.  I missed him dearly when the Methodist Church moved him to a different pastorate.  Later, we learned that his daughter, Katie, was seriously injured in a car accident, and suffered a traumatic brain injury.  We kept up with the CaringBridge posts and prayed and prayed for her healing.

Over the passage of time and years, we had lost touch, but almost a year ago, Charlie presided over the funeral of a family member in Welsh.  We were able to sit and visit for a long time afterward.  It was SO good to get to see him and reconnect.  His familiar smile, humility, kindness and big heart had not changed.  Charlie lived a life that made such an impact on my life.  He loved the Lord Jesus and studying His Word.