For Ray:)

Ray Smallwood  August 1950-December 2010

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1: 3-6).

My first vivid memory of talking to Ray Smallwood, was after finishing preaching, I had asked the congregation to join hands and sing a song at the conclusion of the service. After most of the people left, Ray came up to me, and in his folksy, Will Rogers like way… asked “Are we gonna do that holding hands stuff very often”?

I thought to myself….what’s his deal? I asked him don’t you like that, He said no not really! The ironic part of all that, is while he might not have been overly thrilled at clasping hands and singing, he as only he could would actually hold people much much closer!

I did not know that then, oh but I know it now. Ray became someone very special to me.

He served with distinction as an usher in our Church. In that position he would stand near the back, and I often stand back there to, worshipping the Lord. I vividly remember standing next to him, and watching as he stood by the back, stepping out, leaning out to see the screen and sing songs to the Lord he loved.

Near the offering time, I would pray, and my friend Ray would walk up and receive the morning offering, week after week. He was faithful; He was a servant of God, and one of the warmest, kindest men I have ever been honored to know.

He was almost always the first person to greet me, immediately after I preached, and he always was so kind in his estimation of the sermons effectiveness. One Sunday, right after preaching, I was standing in the back and started to cough. You know the kind, where you need water, when you wish you were somewhere, any place else, where you can’t quite catch your breath.

I needed water, and not two feet away was my friend Ray, in his hand was a half filled bottle of High Quality H2O:)

Ray can I have your water? He looked at me with a look that said “Pastor I would give you anything I have, but I have already drunk half of it” you sure you still want it……yes, and please! He quickly handed me that water bottle, problem solved!

 From that moment to his last Sunday on this earth, he always brought me a bottle of water, placing it in the office, refusing my offer to pay for it….the last bottle is still where he put it.

When I think of Ray and his desire to always be a servant, to represent the Lord with such distinction…to meet my tangible need for water I am reminded what happened in John 4:

7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4: 7-13).

Rays soul, thirst has been forever satisfied….quenched by the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yours can too. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved!

Ray did, and I have….and I just have to believe that when I step into heaven, near the entrance, there will be a familiar trim figure, wearing denim, and boots and the sweetest hair, and a broad smile, and with a glance our friendship will pick up on the other side.

He knowing the lay of the land will provide a tour, we will sit for a time by the river of life….remembering these days, collecting our thoughts… then eagerly going to meet the King…who made it all possible.

Ray now is, in place of know more goodbyes.

He loved his family deeply,  his greatest desire is one we shared…that all our families know the Lord….and are in fact headed for the land of know more goodbyes.

I pray that we all will be there.

See you then...Ray!

Steven Curtis Chapman's song "With Hope" will always remind me of Ray:)