For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my
mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your
works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of
the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were
written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
In other words, none of us just happened. We came into this world, having been put together by God to make a difference in the lives of others and to make a difference for God. It’s amazing the different elements God uses to put us together in our mother’s womb. Put us together for a purpose, to impact those around us.
My dad was one of the most caring and loving people I have ever known. Not only was he a wonderful father, but he was also a loving, devoted and faithful husband to my mother, Jean Tice.
In other words, none of us just happened. We came into this world, having been put together by God to make a difference in the lives of others and to make a difference for God. It’s amazing the different elements God uses to put us together in our mother’s womb. Put us together for a purpose, to impact those around us.
My dad was one of the most caring and loving people I have ever known. Not only was he a wonderful father, but he was also a loving, devoted and faithful husband to my mother, Jean Tice.
He loved my mama, her mama
and her sisters. He especially loved Alice's only child, Dawn Renee. And he
loved my children.
My first husband drowned when I
was 20. Our babies were left father-less. Camille was 27 months old and Wesley
a mere 6 months old. My dad made a vow to be their father. He fulfilled
that vow.
He loved the beach, watermelon on
hot summer afternoons, animals of all kinds, and creating useful wood projects.
And he loved trying to make his tenor voice sound like the rich baritones of
George Beverly Shea as he tried to sing “How Great Thou Art!”
His daddy, William Albert Stone,
was a farmer and part-time Baptist Minister. His mother, Clara Ethel Watwood
was a full-time mother to nine children, 7 girls and 2 boys. And raising such a
large family was not an easy task at anytime much less during the years just
preceding and following the Great Depression.
Daddy was raised with an undying
love for God and a strong respect for women. When born, he already had 6 elder
sisters. He married into a family of girls, with only a mother-in-law as their
daddy has passed when they were young children, and he had many more nieces
than nephews. But male or female, he had true love for others and respect for
all. Even during his final days, when his speech became severely inhibited by
dementia, he would often still say clearly, “God Bless you,” addressed all as
“Ma’am” or “Sir.”
We all have our memories of
this man who was named, William Wesley Stone. He answered to Wesley, Bill and
Rocky....but later in life confessed that he would answer to “Mud” should
someone call him that. My memories span
almost 60 years, though I admit that I recall little from those first couple of
years. He had a true servant’s heart. No
matter where he worked or what job he did, he possessed a strong work ethic. He
was friend to many, striving his best always to be of help to others, whether
in the course of earning a paycheck or lending an ever-willing hand to one in
need.
He was truly humble and took
no pleasure in “putting on the dog” (– an idiom he used to me on rare
occasions).
When you stop to think about the word NEW, what does it mean? When you get down to it, it really implies something better.
Today we say goodbye, at least for now, to a very special gentleman. And he was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Today, as we stop to remember my dad and all those things that made him special, we have to add one more word to that list- "NEW". For today Daddy has a lot of "NEW" things, including a perfect, body fashioned in the image and likeness of Jesus himself. A body he can use to enjoy all the splendors of that place called heaven.
I’m always amazed how Scripture is so realistic. It contains words and actions, which express the whole range of human emotions, and in some ways the book of Psalms is a composite of the Bible.
The 150th Psalm is a closing song of Praise. After 149 songs that speak of the human existence, of pain and joy, sorrow and celebration, the psalmist closes with a simple song of praise
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”
And that is what I would say here today. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”
Those who wrote the psalms were very human, and they knew what it was to feel strong emotion, They cry in pain, they shout with Joy, in all of life they see reason to praise God
We too, just like the psalmist of long ago, know emotions. Today, we celebrate the life of one who was loved by many and who loved many.
But also with this celebration are feelings of sadness and loss, and in this we can lean on God, who will be our stronghold during times of trial. It is during seasons of life just like this that we realize that life as we know it, is uncertain
None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, or even the rest of today for that matter.
The bible often pictures the uncertainty of life, we read in James 4:14
“you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
The very uncertainty of life causes us to consider its approaching end, but even with life’s uncertainties God has made victory possible, and what a celebration that is!
Today we can find comfort in the fact that Jesus has power over the grave, power over death!
We read in the gospel of Luke how He raised the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter… what a celebration that was!
We read in John 11 how He came upon the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and how he wept at the death of his friend, and how he brought him back to life… oh what a celebration that was!
Jesus even overcame death in His own resurrection… and THAT’s a celebration for us!
Today as we celebrate my dad's life with us, and how he touched our lives, we can look forward to the day when death will finally be destroyed!
In 2nd Corinthians 5:11 we read
"If any person be in Christ, they are a new creation; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new."
This is a perfect picture of what happened to my dad, Because this past Sunday morning, about 6:25, the old things passed away and behold, all things indeed became new for him!
And we read in Isaiah 46:4
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am HE, I am HE who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
He sustained my dad. He carried him. And NOW has called him home; PRAISE GOD!! His promise is the same for us.
God’s promises are overwhelming, from the rainbow in the sky, to the salvation He offers, to the promise of His everlasting presence with us.
We remember and celebrate, and praise God for this man who touched our lives in so many different ways.
We Have Gathered Together In This Place, Not Because Daddy has passed away, But Because he Lived....and he lived a Godly life…and He has Graduated!
