Making Much of Christ

My dad was a remarkable man and no words can truly capture his spirit, but when I thought about speaking at my dad's memorial service, I wanted my words to honor God and honor my dad.

I hope my words did just that.

God is a hope-giving God

This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!  For those of you that do not know me, I am Brent’s youngest daughter, Bridgette.

For those of you who knew my dad personally, you know he lived a life of love.  This type of love only comes from being filled with the love of the Lord to the point it overflows onto others.  If you have ever interacted with my dad, then I have no doubt you were touched by his loving, gentle spirit.  A gentle nature that only comes from the Holy Spirit living inside of you.

Do not let the Devil or the lies of the world fool you into thinking that my dad lost his battle to cancer.  Cancer did not defeat my dad.  Christ, the ultimate healer, victoriously defeated cancer in the moment he decided to take my dad home to Heaven!  I like what John Piper says, “When our bodies die, we do not experience once millisecond of break in fellowship with God through Christ.”  Amen!  Christ is sovereign, even in cancer.  I have no doubt that my dad is playing tennis in heaven! Yes, I am mourning the death of my dad here on earth.  I have shed countless tears and will no doubt shed countless more.  I mourn the fact that I can’t pick up the phone and call him.  I mourn the fact that my children will not grow up with a lifetime of memories with him.  I mourn that my mom has lost her soul mate.  I will miss my dad every day for the rest of my life.  But I do not mourn like those with no hope.  God is a hope-giving God and he can carry out hope-giving miracles within us.  God is good in life and for those of who know the Lord as our personal savior, God is even better in death.  I mourn with hope-filled expectancy of the joyous day when I see my dad again in Heaven.  Praise God that this world is not our home and our citizenship is in Heaven! 

If our ultimate purpose in this life is to make much of Christ and do all things for his glory, then my dad has certainly been a valliant kingdom warrior. 

My dad made much of Christ in his marriage.  He selflessly served, honored and loved my mother for over 32 years.  Not once did he raise his voice or say an unkind thing to her.  His love for my mom most certainly was a reflection of the Lord’s love for us…just as God intended marriage to be.  Until he was no longer able, he joyfully served my mom by packing her lunch for work everyday, walking her to her car with coffee every morning, grocery shopping and preparing meals.  When my mom decided to go back to school to pursue her degrees, my dad was always her biggest cheerleader…supporting her each step along the way.  He proofread every paper she ever wrote from her bachelors degree all the way through her doctorate.    The love found in my parent’s marriage is a legacy that will live on for generations.  And let’s not forget my mom.  It takes two to make a marriage work and my mom has been equally selfless, loving, and compassionate to my father for the past 32 years.  Some said it was a love that wouldn’t last because of their age difference, but Satan and the world have no power tearing apart what God has joined together.  My dad made much of Christ in his marriage. 

My dad made much of Christ in his immediate family.  I could go on and on about ways he has treated me like a princess over the years.  He always joked that I might never get married because I would never be able to find someone to treat me as good as he did.  God truly had something special planned when I met my husband Raleigh.  Those of you that have known me a long time, know that I don’t really care for driving.  In fact, my parents had to make me get my driver’s license when I turned 16.  So it will come as no surprise that I really didn’t like driving back and forth from Birmingham to Nashville for holiday breaks during college.  My selfless dad would drive to Samford, pick me up, we would turn around and drive right back home.  Over 6 hours in the car just because I didn’t like to drive.  He did this for almost every holiday or school break the entire 4 years I was in college.  He was without a shadow of the doubt the absolute best dad any girl could dream of having.   

My dad made much of Christ in his extended family.  He was always willing to give and share everything he had.  He was truly the least selfish person I’ve ever known.  My dad knew that time was often our most precious commodity and he was always selfless with his time.  I cannot even count the number of times he made the effort to attend family events when most people would have stayed home.  Many times he would drive from Nashville to Cleveland after just receiving chemo or radiation, so that he wouldn’t miss a ballet recital, a graduation, or a family holiday.  My dad made much of Christ in his extended family. 

My dad made much of Christ in the community.  My dad was always the first to teach me the importance of leaving a good tip.  He was always kind and gracious to everyone he met, regardless of their status within the community.  He would work hard so that he could share his blessings with others. 

My dad made much of Christ in cancer.  My dad was the ultimate fighter.  Behind that gentle smile, was a warrior.  He outlived and out performed many doctors ‘diagnoses over the years as he lived with lupus and cancer.  When other patients would have thrown in the towel, he pulled himself up and did everything he could to live well.  His kindness never waivered even when you knew he felt terrible.  In fact during his recent time at the Baptist rehabilitation center, he mentioned that the housekeeping staff came by at 4:30am every morning to take the garbage out of his room.  He thought this was odd that they had to do it so early, but he said he always tried to have a conversation with them and be extra kind because he knew they had a hard job.  The doctors and nurses were always happy to have my dad as a patient because of his loving nature that was evident to all.  My dad made much of Christ in his cancer journey! And praise God that Jesus defeated cancer and victoriously took my dad home. 

Because my dad made much of Christ in every aspect of his life, I know that he would want Christ to be glorified in his passing to Heaven as well.  If you sit here and know that my dad’s response to hardships was something miraculous, you are right.  He had the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of him.  He personified Philippians 1:27 that says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”  My dad spread the gospel through the way he lived his life in love and no doubt is now rejoicing with his Heavenly Father.