My Dad went to heaven on September 12, 2021, after a short battle with Covid-19. This is the message that I was privileged to speak at his Celebration of Life Service....
One of the earliest memories I have of my Dad is when I was about five years old during the time we lived in Florida. I was on the sidewalk in front of our house playing hopscotch when I jumped onto a large piece of broken glass. The pain was excruciating and I immediately began crying and screaming. In just moments, my Dad ran out of the house and scooped me up in his arms and whisked me inside, so that he and Mom could tend to my injury. He was my hero, like Superman coming on the scene right when I needed him.
As a little girl, I thought my Dad was
perfect. In my eyes, he could do no
wrong. Even though as an adult I know that
he was not perfect—because no one is—I think that my little girl heart still
sees him as perfect.
From my Dad I learned that the most
important relationship I will ever have is the one I have with my Father in
heaven through Jesus Christ my Savior. My
brothers will agree with me that serving Jesus and teaching the Word of God
were the joys of his life. I loved to
hear him teach, and whenever I had a question about the Bible, he was the first
person I wanted to talk to. I remember
being mesmerized by what he had to say, and was so proud of his knowledge of
the Word of God. His love of the Word
was evident in his conversation even as the years passed, right up to the end
of his earthly life.
As children, when we awoke on Sunday
morning, there was never a question, “Are we going to church?” When we woke up on Sunday morning, we knew that
we were going to put on our best Sunday clothes and head to the house of
God.
Dad loved his children, and he knew
the greatest contribution he could make into our lives was not teaching us how
to achieve worldly success, but rather it was instilling in us a desire to serve
God. That, I believe, was his greatest
gift to us.
From Dad we learned consistency, dedication
and commitment to the ways of God. Even
in the face of heartache, many health issues, and what sometimes seemed to be insurmountable
problems, we saw our Dad love and serve God through it all.
J.T. did not leave a lot of material
wealth, but he left us a legacy that continues on. He lives in us as we serve Christ and minister
the love of God to others.
He was a gentle man, but strong in his
beliefs and in his dedication to God. And
with every difficulty, he kept his positive spirit and beautiful smile.
I was able to spend the last two days
and nights of Dad’s life with him at the hospital. There was never any indication during that
time that he knew I was there, but the hours I spent with him are precious to
me. I talked to him, I touched him, I
sang to him. I am so glad it was
possible for me to be there.
The day before Dad went to heaven, I
texted Bishop Mitchell and Wendy Corder to let them know what was
happening. Later, I received a phone
call from Bishop Corder. To my surprise,
he was in Bristol to preach a service that weekend. I
really believe this circumstance was God ordained.
He came to the hospital on Sunday, just hours before Dad passed and ministered to us. The family that day had made the decision to take Dad off of bi-pap. It was heart-wrenching. Bishop Corder gave us encouragement, stating that we were not making a life or death decision; we were making a Life or Life decision. We had to make a decision regarding a machine. God would decide whether Dad would live on earth or in heaven. He would continue to live; it was just the matter of where he would live. His life was in God’s hands, and it was God’s decision.
This was demonstrated emphatically to us a few hours later….
While my brothers and I had fallen asleep in Dad’s room from sheer physical and emotional exhaustion, I believe God said to Dad, “J.T. it’s time. Come on home.” And Dad quietly slipped out of the room. He left before the nurse came in to put him on the morphine drip, and before he was removed from the machine. God proved to us beyond all doubt that He is in control, and He made the decision at that particular time to take Dad home.
Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” We see death as our enemy. But God uses death to bring His saints into His presence. What the enemy means for evil, God uses to accomplish good. God called His son J.T. Osborne home. And now he is with his heavenly Father, and is whole and happier than he has ever been.
Janet, Keith, Tony, David, all who
love J.T., our hearts will always have an emptiness, a missing piece, because
of the loss of this great man. But we
have the hope of eternity. Those of us who
have a relationship with Jesus Christ, we know that we will see J.T.
again.
If he could stand before us now on his two perfect legs, I believe that he would say to us, “Make sure your heart is right with God. That is more important than anything else in your life!"
And I am sure that he would also say….
“It won’t be long. I’ll see you soon!”
