Refreshed. And Heartbroken.

Sitting in a beach chair with my toes in the sand. Listening to the sounds of waves crashing onto the beach. Hearing the sounds of family.

Those are just a few of my favorite memories from last week.

What a relaxing week it was. No particularly agenda. No appointments. No chores. Just relaxing. Laughing. Talking. Making memories.

Relaxed.  Refreshed.  Renewed. That was last week.

But last week also carried a great cloud of sadness.

Last Monday morning we received word that our dear friend Ted Neeley had lost his battle with cancer, and our hearts were broken. Then came Tuesday and the devastating news of the murder of Deputy Austin Aldridge, and the heartbreak became overwhelming.

Ted had lived a long and full life. For nearly 45 years, Ted had been a part of our lives. We had laughed together and cried together and prayed together. It was Ted and his wife Maida Sue who helped us move from West Columbia to Rock Hill. And it was Ted who helped us move back to West Columbia again. Ted was there to help us move Al’s mom into memory care. Birthday parties, youth trips, so many memories with Ted. And we are grieving the loss. Grieving for his family and for all of us who knew and loved him.

I did not know Austin well, but I loved him. I love his family. He often sat on the row behind us in church. As I listened to family and friends talk about him yesterday at his memorial service, I wanted to know him better. Austin was the best of the best. A young man who loved being a Sheriff’s Deputy. Who loved his family. Who loved to laugh. Who was a little goofy. All across Spartanburg County, and all across South Carolina, we are grieving. We grieve for the young man whose life was cut short. We grieve for his wife and their unborn child, for his family, for our church family, and for all who knew and loved him.

Ted and Austin didn’t know each other. But they had something in common. They both loved Jesus! And even in the midst of grief and tears, as I sat in these two funeral services, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, I was refreshed. It is refreshing to hear people boldly speak of their faith. It was refreshing to hear our Sheriff, as well as others who spoke yesterday at Austin’s funeral, boldly speak the name of Jesus. 

One of the great reminders from this last week is that we don’t know when our life will end. We don’t know how much time we had left. Because that is true, we need to be sure we are in a right relationship with Jesus.

Because we don’t know when our time will come, we need to tell people that we love them. We need to make time for the important things and the important people in our lives. Don’t ever assume you will have time for that later. Because you don’t know.

Last week Ted Neeley and Austin Aldridge closed their eyes in this life. And they opened their eyes to see the face of their Savior.

They are gone from this life. And we grieve. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope.

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, [we also believe] that through Jesus God will bring with Him those who who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 NASB)