Saturday, August 1, 2026 Very Strange

     Two blogs in a couple of weeks might be a record for this year.
 
​     On my health side, I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday.  The blood work showed no change in the multiple myeloma cells.  That is really good news.  I am scheduled to return to Mayo Clinic in October for tests and scans.
 
​     The last two weeks have been very strange for Teresa and me.  Often we speak of things happening in threes, but for us it has happened in “a four.”
 
​     It was Teresa who initially observed the following:
 
​     Two weeks ago today, a dear friend from the church where we served in Ashland went home to be with Jesus.
 
​     Last week a lady from the now Mt. Zion Community Church in Clark County left this world.  She served in the nursery while our kids were young and made an impact on our family.   I was more than blessed when we went to her visitation and saw that the church was now a community church.  We were just 30 years ahead of some folks.
 
​     This week another lady who had been in the church we pastored in Lexington before Daybreak suddenly died of an aneurism.  I will officiate her funeral this coming Tuesday.
 
​     And this morning, a couple of hours before the daybreak, our beloved Larry Clevinger walked the threshold from this life into eternity.
 
​     I am not sure what the odds are of this happening, but we have pastored four churches and one person from each church has died in the last two weeks.  They have died in the same order as the churches we have served.
 
​     I am also not sure what to make of this.  It had nothing to do with us.  God knew when to call each of them home.  But it is more than strange. 
 
​     What I do make of this are two things among several.   The obvious one is we never know.  We never know when it might be the last time to say something that we need to say.  We never know when God might call us out of this world, so we need to be sure we are ready.
 
​     In a sweet time when we were alone on Friday, I asked Larry if he was ready.  I knew that he was ready, but one of my callings is to give folks a chance when I am there near the end of life to express that.  Larry shook his head and said, “I am ready.” I have no doubt that he knew that I knew that he was ready.
 
​     The second is the incredible value of brotherhood/sisterhood and friendship. What matters in this world is what you have done with Jesus.  Next in line is what have you done with others.
 
​     The last thing that I said to Larry when we were alone was, “I love you, brother.”  He responded with, “I love you.”  What a marvelous privilege by the grace of God that the last words that you say to a person the last time that you are alone with them is “I love you.”
 
​     What will make heaven, heaven?  Of course, Jesus will.  Falling down in worship to the Lamb that was slain will be the apex.  Larry did that about 4:00 am this morning.
 
​     I have bias as a pastor.  From the beginning God’s plan was for His people to grow to love Him through the covenant family.  That increased even more when the Church was born on Pentecost.  We need each other.  We need the relationships that make life meaningful and purposeful that come through the family of God.
 
​     In our world that is becoming increasingly isolated, the Church stands as God’s answer to the loneliness of this world.  In a very real sense I am the man I am today because of Jeanette, Maxine, Donna, and Larry, with the greatest emphasis on Larry.   35 years is a long time to walk with brother……
 
​     If you are not involved in a local church, find one.  It won’t be perfect; you wouldn’t be allowed to join if it was!  Find others with whom you can grow in the Lord.  Find a place where you can serve Jesus as Larry so ably did.
 
​     ​If you are blessed with relationships in your church, express to others what they mean to you.  We never know what any day might bring.