Dear
Friends,
Let
me begin today’s Leadership Thought by wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. All of
you who are the recipients of this message have in some way wonderfully touched
my life.
I
have served 7 wonderful churches over 55 years of ministry, and during that
time Jean and I have been blessed to cultivate scores of friends, some
whom we have known for over 70 years.
One
of the greatest gifts one can possess is the gift of friendship, and staying
connected with you and periodically hearing from you continues to bring me
great joy.
Tomorrow
will be my first Thanksgiving without my dearest companion, my bride of 55
years. I still miss Jean so much and my grief still erupts at unexpected
times and in unsuspecting places.
Today
I was visiting a friend and a member in our church who was in the hospital
suffering from Parkinson's, the same deadly disease that stole the life of my
precious Jean.
Before
I left his room, I took time to pray for my friend and his wife, but as I
started to pray, I suddenly found myself at a loss-not for words, but for the
ability to express those words that were fashioned in my heart. My own pain had
momentarily silenced my lips and I stood speechless knowing and feeling
the painful struggle this man and his wife were going through.
I
grieve that my Jean is gone, but the good news is that she is not lost from my
life. How can you lose someone when you know where they are?
She
is in heaven with Jesus, and I know she at very much at home with Him for that
is where she longed to be.
And
as I left the hospital and slowly walked to my car, an immense feeling of
gratitude swept over me as I was wonderfully reminded that I would one day see
and be with her again.
As
believers we hold on tightly to the “blessed hope,” the knowledge that one day
we will see and be with our loved ones again.
And tomorrow
when I sit at our Thanksgiving table and note that empty chair, I can rejoice
and give thanks knowing my bride is safe in the loving arms of her Savior.
I
will miss the fact that Jean won’t brighten our table conversation tomorrow,
but yet I am thankful as ponder the thankful list I just compiled. On that list
there are some 30 items I scribbled on a single sheet of paper, and I hope I
have time to share some of them as we gather around our “Thinkful” Thanksgiving
table.
It
has been said that gratitude is the least expressed but most important virtue
in a person’s life, but not tomorrow around the Crenshaw table. We have too
much to be thankful for, and I trust you do too.
Yours
in faith and friendship,
Tom
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