Wednesday, October 17, 2012
To “Myrte”, Joyce, Larry Jr. Donnell, Lil’ Red, Bro. Lamb, Mr. & Mrs James Walker, (whom he & I often referred to as “his Adopted Family”), all the folks he worked with for so long at the Tire, Inspection, & Body Shop and the rest of the Family & Friends that may not be mentioned by name, but are certainly not forgotten. We will all miss Larry but I must say it was a pleasure having known him in this lifetime. Like all of us, Larry had his ups & downs, good times & bad times, but as he often said, God has allowed us to go through these things to make us stronger, better people, and we must look at the good that He intended for us to gain out of it, and not just dwell on the fact that it may have been an unpleasant experience. The key is to come away with a lesson we may very well have earned, by being disobedient to His will, knowing all the time right from wrong, but still God allows us to make our own choices, and sometimes the one that we choose isn’t what He had in mind, but still He graciously allowed us to go through and come out of it, on so many occasions. Larry often found time to pray with us, when time were rough he would often resort to prayer. During the last two weeks of Larry’s life here on earth, he strove to make some significant changes in his life, backing away from some of the things he considered “FUN THINGS TO DO – PARTYING” and started focusing on his FAMILY. He recently lost his wife, whom he still cared very much about as a person even though they were separated, not divorced, he didn’t get to attend her funeral & that triggered his thoughts causing him to refocus his priorities in life, he was hurt over the loss of Lamb’s Sister, whom he considered Family, having known them all his life, and still more difficult was the recent passing of his Father, whom he affectionately referred to as “D”, his youngest son bearing the name of his Father, DeForest. He was thankful to God for having allowed him to survive all these things, and made a commitment to his son Larry Jr, to God, and to himself that he would make an honest attempt to change, & better his life. As I was with him during many of these trying times, I know he kept that promise, and he tried to pass this on to his family, but he did it in “his own way”. One of his great passions was singing, and I’m sure he’s singing now in the presence of God, putting that voice of his to good use. His desire was that his family come together and share the love & peace that he came to find, and I know he found peace, because even in death, looking into his face, “PEACE WAS EVIDENT”, THAT’S PERHAPS WHY HE TRIED TO PREPARE US FOR HIS PARTING, SO EVEN THOUGH WE WILL MISS HIM DEARLY, WE CAN REST ASSURED THAT GOD HAS TAKEN HIM INTO HIS FOLD, AND HE’S GONE HOME TO BE WITH THOSE HE LOVED THAT DEPARTED BEFORE HIM. LET US ALL REJOICE IN KNOWING THAT HE’S LOVED, NOT FORGOTTEN, AND HIS TROUBLED DAYS ARE OVER, AND ONE DAY WE TOO WILL HAVE TO LEAVE THIS LIFE BEHIND, AND PERHAPS OUR PATHS WILL CROSS AGAIN, IN THAT PLACE NOT MADE BY HUMAN HANDS, THAT PLACE FROM WHOSE BORNE NO MAN RETURNS. WHEN HE CALLS, WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ANSWER, AS DID LARRY & ALL THOSE BEFORE HIM. OUR DAY TOO WILL COME, AND AS LARRY OFTEN PRAYED, LORD THOUGH I MAY NOT BE WORTHY, PLEASE REMEMBER ME & TAKE ME INTO YOUR FOLD WHEN MY TIME COMES. I THINK THAT THE MESSAGE HE WOULD WANT US ALL TO HOLD IN OUR HEARTS. SO BE STRONG, AND KEEP YOUR FAITH, GOD DOESN’T SLEEP NOR DOES HE SLUMBER, “HE IS EVER PRESENT”. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO POUR OUT HIS BLESSINGS OF LOVE ON EACH & EVERYONE OF US THAT WE MAY STRIVE TO BE & DO WHAT HE HAS COMMANDED & ORDAINED IN OUR LIVES FROM TIME ETERNAL, AMEN!!!
WE LOVE YOU!
ROBERT, DAVID, VICK, & FAMILY
