This is a re-post of a Thank You letter from 2006. It’s hard to believe it has been ten years since Tim died, on December 15, 2006. Sometimes it seems like yesterday.
December 28, 2006
Dear Friends,
There is so much I would like to say to everyone who has expressed their love and concern for Tim’s family and me. A thank-you note or card just isn’t sufficient to tell you how grateful we are for your friendship and caring for Tim, and for us. Several people have asked and yes, an audio CD was made of the funeral and I’ll be glad to send you one. Just give me a call. It was a special time of celebration of Tim’s faith and courage.
Tim’s death has left a huge hole in the lives of the many people he loved and who loved him. We depended on him for so many things, despite the challenges he faced. He made us laugh, made us grateful for his love, and made us grateful that we knew him. He was more than my husband, he was my dearest and best friend from the first day I met him. He was truly God’s gift to us all.
But today Tim can see, has both his legs, all his fingers and a strong heart, and I believe he is experiencing the greatest of joy with his Lord and with those who arrived in heaven before he did. Some have said he’s playing his French horn with the heavenly orchestra, others have said he’s probably water skiing or driving his 280Z (if there is a way to do that in heaven), dancing, playing tennis, telling funny stories and all those other things Tim loved to do at some time in his life on earth. His daughter Angie said he’s probably already been elected President of some group, organizing ways to help somebody else! They may all be right.
When I think more about what he is doing now, first and foremost I think of praise and worship, face to face with Jesus, Tim’s Savior and Lord. Then organizing and arranging and meeting and greeting keep coming to my mind. Organizing transition activities, first for himself to get used to all his new abilities and tasks, and then helping do that for others. Arranging schedules for training and implementing those abilities. And meeting and greeting family and friends who went ahead of him, especially his grandmother and his dad, but many others who Tim loved.
I truly believe our assignments in eternity depend on how we fulfill the assignments God gives us here on earth. Tim’s spiritual gifts included helping a multitude of other people, and encouraging everyone he knew whether they were close friends or new acquaintances. I told someone that Tim could make a friend out of a wrong number, and that was true. He even put one lady who had dialed the wrong number on hold, then used our business line to get her the right number. Also, I believe he still had every friend he’d ever made and he stayed in touch with most of them throughout the years. He spent the last few weeks of his life calling everyone he knew to wish them a Merry Christmas and catch up on the news about their lives and families.
I am convinced that today Tim is busy helping and encouraging other arrivals in heaven, those who may not have had the godly parents, Bible teaching and spiritual guidance here on earth that Tim had. When I am tempted to feel sorry for myself, the Lord says to me in almost an audible voice, “Look forward, not back.” I am striving to do that, to look forward as I work on my own assignments, working to make the Lord – and Tim – proud of the way I do those here.
Would you please keep in touch? Tim’s friends and family have become very much my own friends and family over the years. He loved and cared for people from his heart and it was contagious. Thank you again for your kindness.
Bette Cox
For more about Tim’s life, and his death, click on these links.
https://talkwithbette.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/still-missing-tim-seven-years-in-heaven-now/
