John VanWoerden, a spiritual friend and brother of mine, died on July 24th, in Chilliwack, British Columbia. There are an amazing number of similarities in our lives that I want to share with you.
* We are both 59 years old
* We were both given a medical death sentence 2 and a half years ago
* We were both married in the same year
* We have loving children and grandchildren
* We both served as elders in our churches and had to step down due to illness
* We both have a heart for missions
* We both have a beautiful, loving, supportive wive
* We both have a wonderful, loving, supportive family and church community
* We are both saved by the grace of God through faith
* We both have a blog for the same reasons (John's blog is http://lookingtochristalone.blogspot.ca/ )
There are of course some differences in our situations:
* John had cancer, and I have ALS
* John had a lot of pain on his journey, and I do not
* John could walk and talk to the end, and I cannot
* We live on opposite sides of our beautiful country, Canada (5,000 Km)
* John has completed his journey, and I am still here (for now)
There could be many more similarities and differences, but this is enough to give you the idea why we were drawn together.
We express our deepest sympathies to Henrietta, children and grandchildren from our family.
Jack
Dear Jack
ReplyDeleteJust recently Dad had spoken about you, how he cherished your friendship. Today, I thought "I'm going to check out Jack's blog". I was sure you had posted something about Dad. Dad is experiencing true Glory, hard to believe while on this earth. We will continue to pray for you on your journey, not easy by any means. Know you are being prayed for and upheld by our advocate, Jesus Christ!
Love Stephanie (John's Daughter)
Hi Jack: We had the privilege of getting to know John and his wife Henrietta over the last few years. We were also grateful to be able to attend his funeral the day before we left to go back to Guatemala. I guess his cancer journey and his passion for missions is what connected us. He was a godly man with a love for Christ and a love for sharing Christ with others. The funeral, although sad was moving and special. It is such a comfort and blessing to attend the funeral of a child of God. We know that death is not the end, but the beginning for God's children. Jack we pray for you and your family daily, as we prayed for John (and continue to do so for his wife and children as they need to be lifted up before the Lord). Blessings Nico
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