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The words you\u2019re about to read\u00a0are a spin off of sorts from\u00a0a hand-written card I sent to a family member of Denny DeVries, who passed away suddenly last week. I would like to have the memories to keep for myself, and I don\u2019t think the family would\u00a0mind me composing a weblog of my thoughts and feelings about their dad, grandpa, husband, friend, and family patriarch. <\/p>\n
In many ways, he was also the patriarch of our church family. Because he was so active (physically and spiritually), I\u2019ve\u00a0struggled to come to terms with the reality of his home going. How does one come to terms with the death of someone who was so constant, so faithful, so \u2026 there<\/em>? Denny was rarely in the limelight, but always \u201cat your service.\u201d He was \u201cDenny the Doorkeeper\u201d, meaning his main ministry at church was meeting and greeting. But more than that, he was often \u201cgrandpa\u201d to more than one of my kids, a steady support for Shaun during ministry prep, and often an odd mixture of my pal, my buddy, and a father\/grandfather figure when I got out of line or just needed a hug. He seemed to know when<\/em> I needed each, though he never knew why <\/em>I needed either. <\/p>\nI know men aren\u2019t typically thought of as hospitable, but Denny was. For I-don\u2019t-even-know-how-long,<\/em> the small group that Shaun led met in Denny and Michele\u2019s home.\u00a0Michele is the one who has the true gift of hospitality, but\u00a0she must have\u00a0rubbed off on him after fifty-some years of marriage, because he made\u00a0small group\u00a0seem like home to all of us. He\u2019d get you an extra\u00a0chair, generate conversation, ask you how life was going, offer you peanut butter for your banana bread, and tell of his recent golfing experiences. <\/p>\nI have no idea why God called him home when He did (terrible timing, in my book!), nor do I know how the family will go on living with such a large void. And yet, the grief I feel is familiar. I\u2019ve done this before, and each time, God has been faithful to show how to go on, how to keep pouring our lives into others. In fact, that is often a cathartic remedy for grief \u2013 to lean into the pain while continuing to minister to others in their pain. <\/p>\n
In our weaknesses, He helps us. In our grief, He comforts us. In our loneliness, He never leaves or forsakes us. <\/p>\n
Andrew always tells the story of how Denny would walk\u00a0up to him and his group of friends at church, roll\u00a0those big\u00a0eyes of his, and\u00a0yell \u201cBuncha losers!\u201d And like all teenage boys, they loved the blunt, rough and tumble\u00a0talk \u2026 and the hugs and laughter that came afterward to convey\u00a0he loved them in spite of their loser-ness. <\/p>\n
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints<\/em>, the Psalmist says. But\u00a0losing Denny\u00a0doesn\u2019t feel precious. It doesn\u2019t feel precious at all. It actually feels pretty crappy. But grief is a process. Everyone\u2019s going to deal with this their own way, in their own timing. One day we\u2019ll understand. One day, we\u2019ll share the Lord\u2019s thoughts. <\/p>\nIn the meantime, whether our hearts feel it or not, we say with Job\u00a0\u2026. <\/p>\n
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. <\/em><\/p>\nThank you, Lord, for the life of Denny DeVries. I hope when I get to Heaven, I\u2019ll find him there, doorkeeping,\u00a0inviting folks\u00a0to come into the presence of our Lord and Savior, just like he did on earth every Sunday. <\/p>\n
Of course, knowing him, when it\u2019s my turn to enter in, he\u2019ll\u00a0pretend it\u2019s locked, just to scare the bajeebers outta me.\u00a0So I will scold him.\u00a0Then he will hug me \u2026 and all\u00a0the\u00a0grief\u00a0I felt on\u00a0earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The words you\u2019re about to read\u00a0are a spin off of sorts from\u00a0a hand-written card I sent to a family member of Denny DeVries, who passed away suddenly last week. I would like to have the memories to keep for myself, and I don\u2019t think the family would\u00a0mind me composing a weblog of my thoughts and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":421,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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