Signs of Life
By Jennifer Jackson Whittier
Signs of Life
When you feel that little nudge from God to reach out to a friend, never
Ignore it. I believe that these are signs....signals about someone special in your life. Pay attention; you’ll be glad you did.
Such was the case last week when a photo memory appeared on my Facebook page. It was a picture taken many years ago of a lifelong friend
and me at my grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary; he had been
our former pastor........I always simply referred to him as Preacher, and that term of endearment had stuck. Preacher had officiated at our wedding; he had baptized my husband, a former Lutheran, and had later ordained him as a Southern Baptist deacon. In short, he had been there for us during the most memorable times in our lives, including the birth of our daughters and those instances when only the advice of a good friend with a hot line straight to God would suffice.
That photo prompted me to search for our old wedding album, a collection of precious memories.......There we were, in our early twenties, full of dreams and determined to live a life full of happily-ever-afters. Preacher was standing over us as we knelt at the altar; he was grinning from ear to ear; I think he knew he was tying a knot that would last a lifetime. One memory led to another, and I spent the afternoon remembering how this Man of God had been with us as friend and counselor throughout most of our lives, well
after he moved to another town and was called to be the pastor at another church. We stayed in touch through emails and phone calls. He had
suffered tragedy in his life, and I liked to think that the bond of our friendship had lifted some of his burdens as he had lifted ours. We would sometimes
visit when he moved to Nashville, never failing to bring our girls with us so they could get to know this special person. He took us on whirlwind tours of the city and the beautiful Opryland Hotel where he was a chaplain; we shared meals and laughed about old times; and he always, always shared his love for the Lord with our family. He prayed the prayer of salvation with our older daughter.
His impact on our lives was immeasurable.
His hair was fiery red, and he had a voice and a laugh that was
unmistakable; his personality lit up any room, and he could preach a
sermon that was the envy of any revival evangelist. He made life better for others and we were definitely blessed by him and his joy in Christ and in life itself.
Those memories prompted me to make a phone call to a number I hadn’t called in far too long. At age 91, his voice was a little weaker, but still
a joy to hear. He recognized both my phone number and my voice, and it was as if the years had been erased, and time and distance didn’t exist. We talked. We laughed. We caught up on the important things. Then we said good-bye.
Last night I was awakened by a phone message informing me that our beloved Preacher had passed away. It’s odd how learning of a death sucks
the breath from your body......how everything stands still, and the silence is deafening. People don’t say “death” much anymore when referring to someone’s dying; they say, “arrived in heaven” or “in the arms of God.” I like that better.
Death sounds so final, so definitive; but death is just the beginning. I recently saw the quote: We don’t HAVE a soul; we ARE a soul; and that soul has a home in heaven. My Preacher is at home in heaven, and I am so
thankful that God allowed me to have one last conversation with him before
he walked through those gates.
Those signs are important; they often afford us an opportunity to reach out to someone for the last time.