Grandfathered

So yesterday I got a text from a friend saying that a man named Merland Severson was celebrating probably his last birthday and his family was asking for letters and encouragements to read to him. This is what I sent to him.

Dear Merland-

In 2010, the Lord brought my wife Afton and I to Believers Church in Tulsa. I came to work as the Jr. High Pastor, and I came as an orphan. My parents were both still alive but I was an orphan no less. An orphan in my heart, very capable, but desperately seeking to find a home and someone to care for me. Believers Church represented that home for me, where I learned to settle into the Father's arms. You were part of that homecoming.

You see, I never really knew either of my grandfathers. My mom's dad died of cancer before I was born, and my dad's dad had a stroke when I was about 10. I remember him, but not well. This was a wound for me for a long time, especially as I grew into manhood and started a family. There was no patriarch in my family. My own father was frail and afflicted by depression and so I was thrust into that position. The strongest man in my family, but weakened by uncertainty. So I sought the Lord and threw my weakness at his feet. I decided to trust him, to depend on him, to need him for my strength. My wife gave birth to my first two sons, and I was so scared to try to raise them. I thought, how can I bring these babies into manhood when I still on that journey myself. Somewhere in that journey, I met you.

My ancestors migrated from Sweden, so I was I think naturally drawn to your Scandinavian stature. I'm a big guy myself, so I don't often feel hugged, but man, I enjoy a hug from you. Probably every time I saw you on a Sunday, we would find ourselves in a hearty embrace and you would say "Oh bless you, bless you, bless you".Your joy and presence bring me joy. I remember sitting in church one morning in some kind of crisis, wondering if I could manage to serve the Lord for the rest of my days, and lamenting that I had no idea what that really looked like. Tim played the song "I Need Thee Every Hour". Behind me I heard this booming voice, which was so sincere and honest and humble, crying out to the Lord. I looked back and saw you with your massive strong hands lifted to the Lord and tears in your eyes. I thought to myself "surely this man has lived so much life has got a great many things figured out and yet there was no pride in your voice". I felt the Lord telling me "this is what it looks like to serve Me all of your days" and I wept. You didn't know it, but your obedience and humility filled a hole in my heart that day.

Another great time was when you and Ann invited me to your house in Tulsa and we just sat and talked for a bit. You told me stories of working with Leonard Ravenhill and you prayed for me. I wanted to have that space of stories and prayer with my own grandfathers and even with my own father, but never did. You were the Lord's surrogate for me and brought me great joy.

My most precious memory though is when you honored me in standing with my family as we dedicated by oldest two boys to the Lord. Bear was 4 and Boss was less than a year old, and we finally got around to doing it. You were about to leave Tulsa, and my own father had passed away the previous year. I felt more fatherless than ever. I don't really remember what was said, but I remember your hand on my head. I felt in that moment as you prayed a blessing over my sons and over me something like when Jacob must have spoken blessing over Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. It was a moment so full of the Lord's presence that I just cried and cried. I felt like you passed something to me. I felt like the Lord was again reminding me of His faithfulness that Mark 10:29-30 describes. I knew that God will forever meet my needs as I lay them at His feet. I haven't seen you since that day, but if I could, I would wrap you up in a hearty hug and tell you how much I appreciate you.

So I will end with this and I hope you get to hear it:

Merland Severson, I bless you in the name of the Lord. I bless your years of faithfulness to the Lord and your humble obedience. As your heart turns toward your eternal home, I can hear the Spirit whispering the words that you will no doubt hear booming from the Father someday soon. "Well done! Well done good and faithful servant.  You have run your race well and finished strong". May your family be filled with peace and may they carry the legacy and the mantle that you have borne so well for so long. I will miss you dear friend, but I know that we will see each other again and find ourselves in yet another hearty Scandinavian embrace. Please know, that each time I think of you, I am reminded of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. If that's not a hell of a way to be remembered, I don't know what is. I love you.

Josh