I didn't know him. Although I feel like I do now. I've heard so much about him in the last four days. He must have made a huge influence on a lot of people. He must have been a great person. It is so obvious from all the reports I've heard and seen that he was a strong Christian with a servant heart. He's being remembered as a hero. As an example. As the kind of person that every set of parents dreams their child will be. I wish I had met him. I think I will. One day. His name was Ty.
If you haven't heard about him, you either don't live here in Middle Tennessee or you've been living under a rock for the last four days. Here's an article from the Tennessean....(click here). Read about him....although I'm sure the article doesn't do him justice. I first heard about him last Saturday night when I read a Facebook post that asked for prayers. I clicked on the post and it took me to a blog asking for "prayers for Ty" and explaining some of what happened. I didn't think much about it really. I said a quick prayer and hoped Ty would pull through, but honestly didn't think I'd hear anymore about it. Boy was I wrong. The next morning, Sunday, I read another post that Ty had passed. I hated that, but again, I didn't know him and didn't think I knew anyone that knew him. Boy was I wrong....again. I kept seeing more and more posts. My friends. My former students. All posting about Ty. I had to ask "Who was this guy?" That morning in church, they announced his passing and the fact that he went to Harding University, attended a local church where I
do know a lot of the members, and the fact that several of the guys at our church roomed close to him and knew him well. It was all becoming a little clearer. A lot of people I knew did know him, but it was becoming even clearer that this guy was something special. His passing and who he was became the topic of so many conversations that day. After hearing so many talk about him, I started feeling worse and worse for the family. While I have a small sense of what they are going through....losing a child.....I know it would be much worse losing someone you knew and loved for 18+ years. I don't pretend to know what that's like. It's impossible to imagine. There are no words to make that pain go away. Only the hope of the future. It seems pretty clear that Ty was a godly young man, and I feel certain that he's joined our Father and is now having the time of his life. And again, as I've said before, I'm planning to join him one day. So I do hope to meet him and let him know that he obviously made an impact on a lot of people. But why write about him here? I didn't know him. He didn't know me. We had no real connection, right? Actually, wrong. Back to mom's email.I was informed last evening by my mom that Ty's great grandmother (Nell Carver Grimes) and my great grandfather (Roy Carver) were brother and sister. Ty was my cousin. A distant cousin, yes, but he was family. In fact our two grandmothers, who are first cousins, spent a lot of time together growing up and still keep in touch. I had no idea. It came as a little surprise, a shock, and it made me hurt a lot more for this family. What a small world. God has created this huge planet with over 7 billion people, but it's really so small. I'm filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, I am humbled and honored to have been related to such a wonderful person. On the other hand, I am deeply saddened that I never got to meet him here on Earth. But another part of me realizes that this world is not the end. This world may seem small sometimes when in reality it's large in size, but the fact is that this world is nothing compared with what lies ahead. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that the way to get to what lies ahead is small. It's a small path and we have to stay on it. The other way is large and easy, but trust me, you want to stay on that small and narrow path. Ty did. He was a servant. I've seen pictures of him on mission trips. I've read that he donated his organs and had that wish made clear on his license. And it wasn't just what he did. It was who he was. That's obvious from what I've heard about him. He did what it took to be on God's small path and he knew where he was going.
There's room on the small path. Stay on it with me. So that we can see Ty. So that we can see Griffin. So that we can see Jesus. So that we can see our Father whose grace and love makes it all possible.
I wish I had known you Ty. I just found out you were family. But you know what? You were already family. You were my brother in Christ. And I'll join you one day so you can introduce Him to me.
I love God, Griffin, my Girl, and my Guys.
Keep runnin'. The PRIZE awaits. (Php. 3:14)
-Albert
Once again the tragic death of a fine young Christian makes the news. Along with the questions of what happened, how, where, etc., invariably THAT question gets asked: "How can God allow this to happen to one who loved Him and wanted to serve Him?"
ReplyDeleteAs a police chaplain I have been asked this question so many, many times. It is a question that neither I nor anyone else can fully answer. The old cliche's of, "Well God needed him," "He must have done something," etc., are so old, worn out, and seldom, if ever, appropriate. First off, what need would God Almighty have for any of us except to serve Him here? As for the possibility of "ironic justice," well, who are any of us to judge? The hard fact is really quite simple: There is no answer.
The world that God created was perfect in every way imaginable. There was no illness, no need to work, no death. All that God commanded was to obey His one command...to not eat the fruit of the Tree of Life. And man couldn't even do that! So, the burdens we bear today were created over two thousand years ago. Sin (and its consequences)has been a part of our world since then. Many persons appear to "reap what they sow" through their untimely deaths; as a chaplain and an officer I have seen more than my share of deaths due to drunk driving, recklessness, poor life choices, etc...
Then...we have Ty. A young follower of Christ so full of life and promise of a life filled with service to God, people, and blessings to him and his family. Would he have married a beautiful woman and had children they would raise in the Lord? Become a minister/elder/teacher in the Lord's Church? In this election year, we might even wonder if Ty might have one day been President Of The United States?
Until we go to be with the Lord (and Ty)we will never know. Anyone who proclaims to know is merely expressing a thought with no concrete evidence to support their claim.
The fact is this...In our world, things happen that absolutely no one can explain or comprehend. It is times such as these that our Christian faith is put to the test. We simply must stand on the Promises of God and trust in the words "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5) Jesus Himself told us, "I am the The Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, shall never die." (John 11:25-26) As one who has come within 2 hours of death in a hospital I know what it is to have one's faith tested. As I was being wheeled into the Intensive Care Unit at Baptist in 2007, with a temperature approaching 105 degrees, I remember thinking, "Well, this is it. Jesus, receive my spirit." Praise His Name that I sit here five years later writing these words.
We will weep and our hearts will break at the loss of our friend and brother Ty, and this is as it should be. "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) We will embrace each other to comfort, and this again is what we should do. Remember these words, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." (1 Thess 4:13) We WILL see Ty again, in a world where there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain!
I don't believe I ever had the privilege of meeting Ty, but I know many who have, so to them (and of course Ty's family) may I express my heart-felt sympathy for your loss and know that my prayers are with you all. May God strengthen you in the days ahead until that glorious day when we are all reunited with Ty and all others who have gone on before us.
Scott, First of all I want to say thank you for such a fine comment. I appreciate your words of encouragement.
DeleteI do, however, have one small correction -- Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." (Genesis 2:17) Once they ate of that tree, they were put out of the Garden before they could eat of the "Tree of Life." (Gen. 3: 22-24.)
Albert, I appreciate your kind remarks regarding our grandson, Ty Osman. Your parents and grandmother visited us at Ty's viewing. I try to keep up with your parents, Cousin June, Abigail, etc. You and your wife, Susan Michelle Moore of Terre Haute, IN were married 3/4/2000. Our family lived in Linton, IN 13 yrs. from 1967-1980, where my husband preached at the church there. Ty and his family visited us often there. I knew your great grandparents, my Uncle Roy and Aunt Erma, and loved them dearly. Yes, it's a small world and just getting smaller every day. Thank you again for your kind words on your Runner's Blog. Janell Grimes Lewis, Johnson City, TN.
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