Well, here we go again as I attempt to regain the heart and time to become a blogger par-excellence. Many people have asked me to pick up this blessed habit because they seem to get something out of my musings. So, here I go again.
So much has happened since I last posted in May. One of my heroes in the faith, and a man I have written about before, Pastor Larry James Brice has graduated to heaven after a painful battle with colon cancer. Larry passed quietly into the Presence of the living Light early on the morning of September 6. His struggle and death have had a profound impact upon my life. Larry was one of the best men I have ever known. What made him that way was Christ within! Larry's life was a picture of Christ being formed on the inside, and working His way to the outside for others to observe.
Larry was gentle, strong, joyful, deep, contemplative, funny, caring, skeptical, hopeful, and real! Larry was a wonderful contradiction of humanity struggling with divinity within. Larry could at times be negative, but he was never hopeless. I loved spending time with him because he was willing to be honest about the difficult subjects of life in a way that was non-religious.
Larry reminded me of men like David and the other Psalmist's who said how they really felt, and complained openly to God about it while maintaining a posture of trust and thanksgiving to God. Larry was a pleasure to know, and I am privileged beyond words to have been able to call him my best friend!
I now embark upon the journey of pastoring at Grace Harvest Church without Larry at my side. I never really prepared for this contingency, but I am confident that God was not surprised, and that He has already gone before us to meet our need. In some ways, I feel that I am not only starting over again at blogging, but that I am starting over again at pastoring. In both areas, I am counting on the God who holds my future, and the future of His people to give fresh manna for each day and to enable me and others to travel down this path that we have never traveled before. May God help us all.
I want to conclude by making the last sermon Larry preached at our church available through a link. Last November, just before Thanksgiving, while I was in the Philippines on a mission trip, Larry preached a message titled, "BE THANKFUL!" It is powerful and ironic in a God-kind of way. I have also included an article from the Columbia Basin Herald that was carried the day after Larry's Memorial Service.
"BE THANKFUL" - SERMON BY PASTOR LARRY JAMES BRICE
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD ARTICLE
