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12:28pm on Monday, January 20, 2003, I returned to my office desk to find
a little red "message waiting" light showing on my telephone. I
punched in the codes to retrieve the message, then heard the nervous voice
of my aunt Gay telling me that she was calling from my Mom's home and
asking me to call back as soon as possible. I called immediately and
was told that my Daddy had just died there at home in his office.
My Mom was already surrounded by
friends from their church, and my sisters had also been told. I hung
up the phone and told my supervisor that I needed to go home... to Waco,
Texas. I drove to our new apartment thinking about how unexpected
this was, and about the fact that Jennifer was never going to meet my
father. When I got home she was surprised to see me, but she
immediately knew something was very wrong.
She came to me and put her arms
around me, gently asking what had shaken me up so badly that she could see
it in my face. I told her my Daddy was gone. She hugged me
tighter then, and eventually told me that she knew exactly how I felt.
I knew when she said it that she did. I cried harder that day than I can remember crying
since I was a little child. I am thankful, once again, for the
provisions of our Almighty God Who brought Jennifer into my life
in time to be my support during this time. And I'm even more
thankful that my whole family has absolute assurance, by the promises of
the same
Almighty God, that we will all be reunited again... after a season.
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