I've started this post several times, but I just can't decide how to put into writing, all the emotion in my heart. Sunday marked the passing of a spiritual giant. Jim Terry was the patriarch of Children's camping in the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. For the last 27 years my family has spent the fourth of July week at
Ceta Canyon with his family and about four hundred 4th and 5th grade children. He's been a part of my life since I was two. That camp has been an integral part of my life. It was there that I received my call to ministry. And after I had made my mistakes, it was Jim Terry who restored me to that call. He saw God's potential in me dispite my human fallenness. I learned grace from Jim Terry.
I have spent a lot of time weeping this past weekend. I don't weep for the loss. I don't weep because he is gone. I weep because, as I have reflected on his life, and on what he meant to me, I have seen the depth of his love for me. I have seen how he has impacted my life. I saw him once a year for one week, and yet he has been such a significant part of my life. He was a gentle man whose patience and love would draw you to him.
When I heard the news of his death, my wife held me in her arms as I wept. The only thing I could think or say was, "He really loved me."
That is the kind of legacy I hope I leave on this earth.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15
