Changes

Sometimes life has such a way of taking us and saying, now just you wait a minute. Its in those times when we find out just how truly weak/strong we are, how deep our faith goes and how truly blessed we are.

Today was one of those such days. I was going about my daily routine of working on laundry and picking things up so that I could start canning the deer that Austin got on Monday when a friend from church called and with the words, "Did you hear about Ted?", my day quickly turned into a totally different reality.

You just never know from one minute to the next. One doesn't have the guarantee of even breathing another second of life for that matter. We all know this and yet we still run rampantly through our days and lives...squeezing every second out of each second that we possibly can. And then BAM...along comes a brick wall and you slam headlong into it and as you stand there reeling from the blow and asking yourself how is this even possible...you realize that you knew all along that it truly is possible as it has just happened.

This morning was one of those brick walls. And I am even on the side of it where its not as fatal a blow as it is to the family of Ted...but still a blow - a wound - a will we heal from this?

Blows like this come out of nowhere. You're rushing headlong thru life, seizing every opportunity to do better, to give more, to laugh more often, to be more thankful and yet, as one man at church said this evening...you sometimes forget that those right around you need you the most to let them know that you appreciate them, love them and are happy to be a part of their lives...until that blow happens...and they are no longer in your life.

Such a blow has come to our church just outside our town. Ted left this old world to become a part of a much better place. We so loved his humor, his love for life, his willingness to be in church "every time those doors were open", the way he laughed out loud when he appreciated a story from the pulpit, his telling the kids there was candy in his truck for them, taking his fake leg and turning it upside down to make the kids laugh and we adults smile, his summer and winter seats in church, his stories he'd share about farming, his testimony of how God was always there for him....in a nutshell...he was loved o so very much and he let everyone of us know that he loved us and was always there for us.

I know that there are reasons. God doesn't just do something to do something. He could if He wanted to cause He IS God. But He doesn't...there is always a reason. Its a bittersweet moment to say, ok, Lord...You know the why and I'm going to have to rest in that even though at this moment in time it hurts and it hurts to see Ted's family hurting so badly and his friends so sad and knowing that there are going to have to be changes made now.

So tonight, as I sit here in the living room by the Christmas tree, the family in bed asleep, I'm just going to do my best to thank God for the time I had to get to know Ted, for the laughs I got to hear, the "Howdy, Mrs. Preacher" that I got every time we were at church, the way he'd tell Troll on his way out the door, "Good message, big fella", or just the way that Ted was Ted. I know that my life was blessed immensely to know this humble, jolly, simple living farmer and I don't ever regret the opportunity that I had to meet him and be a part of he and his family's life.

Center Union/Newport has lost a truly wonderful man and friend....but Heaven has gained a big laugh and a heart full of gratitude and love for His savior...in the man we called.....Teddy.