beside still waters

WELCOME HOME, LYLE!

Yesterday I received a voice mail from the son of one of my folk at Heritage Woods in Rockford. He asked me to call him back. Something must be wrong, I assumed...Lyle is very ill or Lyle has died. Lyle died yesterday. (I was so sad that I had not been able to visit him at the end...thanks to HIPAA laws.) His son asked me to handle the funeral service. I said yes. This is why.

At my first or second meeting at Heritage, back in 2009, my Bible lesson was on the words of Jesus, "I am the Bread of Life. He that comes to Me will never hunger." Of course, I also talked about John 3:16 and John 11:25, 26. At the end, I asked if there was anyone who wasn't sure they would go to heaven when they die and would like to talk with me and pray with me. Lyle's hand was the first to shoot up.

He prayed a simple prayer that night and put his faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. Lyle continued to come to the twice-a-month meetings from then on. Sometimes he was struggling healthwise and didn't come, but he was very, very faithful.

I had a special place in my heart for him, for two reasons, I think: First of all, he was one of the first who came to Jesus Christ at that home, and second, because he was an all-American male who was not afraid to identify with Jesus. Lots of women come to the meetings; not many men, mostly because the women just outlast the men! But even at that, Lyle, along with five or six other men have been courageous enough to come and sing the old hymns and listen to the lessons from the Word of God, and to learn more about our great God and the Bible.

Based upon John 3:16..."whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life..." --Lyle Smith has left us and gone to heaven to be with Jesus. I will see him again. Praise be to God.