A TRUE FRIEND and (dad)

Today, I lost a true friend, but more than that, an adopted father. Ray and Dorothy are two people who go to my church. I adopted them as parents about fifteen or so years ago. Ray went home to be with his Lord and Saviour this morning after a couple of months of illness. Words could never express the help and blessing he and his dear wife have been to me over the years. We prayed together, laughed together, and sometimes even cried together. He left behind his wife of 62 years and a biological son. His daughter went home to be with the Lord this past July. Now they are united again in a far better place.

Ray and I shared many things in our time together here on earth but one of the most special things we shared was a Bible verse, Proverbs 27:6 "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." And Ray, I called him Dad, was a faithful friend, not only to me but to the Lord Jesus Christ. For years his last prayer at night was, "Lord, get me out of here before morning." He was homesick for Heaven. Now, at last, he has seen the Lord he loved and served so much and for so long, face to face.

There were times when dad and I didn't see eye to eye. There were times when he would give me unsolicited advice that I didn't want to hear. There was a time when I told his wife, who I call mom, that he didn't have much compassion. There were times when he was abrupt and, seemingly, not very kind. But when I said he didn't have much compassion, I was wrong. It takes real compassion to care about someone enough to tell them the truth even when you know they don't want to hear it. It takes real compassion to tell someone something you know may hurt them because you care about them enough to want them to be better. It takes real compassion to risk your relationship with someone enough to rebuke them and try to help them get on the right track. Thus, the verse we shared was special to me and it is even more special to me now.

There is something else about Ray. He was blind. He had been blind for 49 of his 82 years on this earth. He used to say, "The Lord had to take my eyes in order for me to see, but better to be blind than burn." And, believe me, dad could see! He used to stand up in church to give a testimony and the pastor would say, "What are you looking for Ray?" And dad would say, "I'm looking for the Lord." And he was. But he didn't just look for the Lord, I believe he saw Him like few people do while they are on this earth. I remember when we would listen to a sermon and he would say, Did you hear the preacher say this or that? And I would say, "No, I didn't hear that." And he would say, "That's the trouble with you guys that can see, you have too many distractions." One distraction that he did not have that we who can see have is the lust of the eyes. I kind of envied him for that. But though he couldn't see the physical things of this earth, he saw the Lord much more clearly than most. You see, he didn't let the things of this earth distract him. He ran the Christian race well and kept his eye on the Prize. And today he crossed the finish line and heard the sweetest sound of all from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Yes, God finally answered dad's prayer today. He got him out! Out of this old world but into His Presence. I don't know everything dad saw when he opened his eyes in Heaven but I know he saw the Lord Jesus Christ and his daughter and whatever else he saw it was better than anything he ever saw on this earth. I can imagine the colors were brighter than ever before. And his vision was clearer than it had ever been.

Dad's suffering is over. He fought a good fight, he finished the course, and he kept the faith. And he won his crown.

I will miss you, Dad. I miss you already. As you have said so often, "If you get there before I do, save me a place because I'm coming too." Well, save me a place dad. I'll see you again someday.

Another thing about dad: he didn't like to say goodbye. He said goodbye seems so final, if you're a Christian, you don't have to say goodbye because we will see each other again. Every time we hung up the telephone we would say, "So long."

So to my true friend and adopted dad, I'll just say, "So long."