January 7, 2010

• And Then There Were Four...

  Tonight finds me here at home alone, mourning the loss of an Uncle.

  Uncle Ronnie was the next to the last of my grandparent's five children. A bit of a black sheep, he was the one you could always count on for a laugh in any situation. He loved life, and he loved his family. This summer he and Aunt Kim would have been married thirty years. I remember being at the wedding, even though I was so young. A year later Heather was born. I remember getting to hold her as a baby, now she has three of her own. A couple of years later Amanda came along. Amanda was always a bit of a tomboy, and loved spending time with her dad, doing the things that he loved doing. Both girls loved there dad so much.

  When Uncle Ronnie was thirty-three, he had his first of several heart attacks, and by thirty-four he had endured the shear misery of having his bowels rupture as well. We almost lost him then, but he was a fighter, and pulled through, but after all was said and done, he only had I believe it was 20% of his heart that was left working. This was in late 1990, and through it all he went on to have a blast throughout the Nineties. That's not to say that all was perfect, but some great memories of family gatherings and watching the girls grow up were made. As we crossed into the next decade, we got to see him walk Heather down the aisle for her first chance at marriage. This past decade saw Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Kim become the grandparents of four little boys.

  We knew that after the heart attack that happened almost five years ago that Uncle Ronnie was finally starting to tire. Thankfully though it was during this time that Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Kim decided to make things right with God.

  Little did we know what was to be around the corner...cancer.

  When he was diagnosed he was already at stage four, and was given six months to two years to live, that was over three years ago I believe. Through it all God was faithful, and honored the prayers of a faithful and loving sister, among others, and gave Ronnie a reasonably good life. But the time had finally come, when his body just couldn't keep up. By Christmas day he was in the hospital, where he remained until this evening, when God decided that he had suffered enough, and called him home to be in His presence.

  Think about it...Uncle Ronnie, right now, is in the actual presence of the Great and Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, and our Heavenly Father, rejoicing in that he has been healed.

  It is my prayer that if you who might be reading this has never given much thought to God, and where you stand with Him, that you would, and make sure that things are right between you and Him, so that when your time comes, you will be able to do as my Uncle Ronnie has, and be able to stand in the presence of the Almighty.

  "And I'll see you, when I get home, in the sweet by and by,  and we'll walk along the streets of gold, with angels by our side. And time will have no meaning there, in the land of no goodbyes, oh it's good to know, so good to know, that I'll see you, when I get home...."

  In Honor Of My Uncle, Ronnie Jessee, 1956-2010

   

  Love Always,

  -Richard.

  • 9:38 pm
  • 4 Comments