Elizabeth Gardner
Big George, my
dad, was a very loving person who knew no strangers. This is an incident in time, that I feel should be shared.
In late May 1971,
my husband Bob and I went to Clearwater, Florida, where he had business
appointments. We were supposed to
have gone to visit my parents in Durham, North Carolina, that weekend, but were
unable to make it.
When we returned
to our Longwood home on June 1, I felt that something was not quite right. Bob
had gone outside to do yard work, and I was in the house unpacking from our
trip. Suddenly I ran out into the
yard and began talking rapidly to him.
I said, “Bob, I feel that, for some reason, we are going to go through
deep waters.” After going back inside, this unsettled
feeling was still with me.
That night after
supper I developed a terrible headache - - the worst one I have ever had. I had to sit in semi-darkness as my
eyes were so sensitive to light.
About 9:00 o’clock while still sitting in the darkness of our small
living room, I somehow began moving into this dark tunnel with great
speed. Quickly I approached the
end of the tunnel, saw a very bright light, and came to an abrupt halt. At that very moment, my headache was
gone, and I was aware of being back in my chair. Just then the telephone rang, and my mother gave me the sad
news that my beloved dad had just died.
After the shock of our
loss, I realized that as close as I was to my dad, I was allowed to travel with
him along the path he was
on, but I was
stopped. Dad traveled on to meet
Jesus and entered the larger life.
As sad as it was,
Jesus was with us both in this earthly separation. “He is with us always even to the end of the ages.”
While attending my
dad’s funeral in the church where I had gone as a child, I looked up at the
gorgeous Good Shepherd altar window.
I saw my dad standing there in a beautiful blue jacket right next to
Jesus and the sheep, smiling his wonderful sweet smile at me.
I was comforted
seeing him with Jesus, the Great Shepherd.
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