Ray died of cancer. Obit
I met Ray a couple of years ago, when my Mom spent some months recovering from a brain hemorrhage. Ray's wife, Janice, had been a nurse with my Mom for over 20 years.
Ray found Christ about 8ish or 9ish years ago. Before that, his life had been less than fulfilling in several areas. Ray married Janice sometime after he gave his life to our Lord.
What I want to say about Ray is this: he was a Christian inspiration to me.
It wasn't anything, really, which he ever said. Ray was sort of a John Wayne values and principles man. He was personable and interesting, yet he wasn't given to making speeches - at least not to me. I don't recall him ever speaking about religion.
And it wasn't that Ray was perfect. I think he would be the first to say that he was, on occasion, a cantankerous Christian.
It was, instead, that this cantankerous John Wayne values and principles guy often gave off a kind of a peaceful glow which only comes from people who know Christ. He wasn't trying to give off the glow, and he wasn't imposing the glow into a space. He was just naturally giving off the glow. I'm a salesman. I study people - as sort of a natural habit - for signs of authenticity vs. inauthenticity. Ray's glow was authentic and natural. That's what I liked about it, and that's what drew me in, and that's what was inspiring to me. He was a fine man. He is an inspiration to me.
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1 comment:
This is a very inspirational post, Greg. Death is nothing if you know Christ. Thank you for sharing this.
As an aside, I just learned last week that my best and oldest friend Pat, in Marin County, has just been diagnosed with a brain tumor--a recurrence of a previous lung cancer. She does not know Christ nor does she want to, so it grieves me greatly. I am however praying for her and will go the distance with her and this, God willing.
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