"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
Psalm 23:6
I first began to correspond with Eleanor and Dick after I received a beautiful letter from Eleanor...
my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
Psalm 23:6
I first began to correspond with Eleanor and Dick after I received a beautiful letter from Eleanor...
She was the writer of the two. It was back in 1999 when Eleanor and Dick happened to be watching the Larry King Show that, at the time, was featured weekly on CNN's television network. Larry King was a popular media personality who would interview people from all walks of life, one of which was me.
While I never got to see the program, the responses I got from it were many. And one of those was from Eleanor. She and Dick were especially touched by what I was able to share. First, because they were devout Christians who were inspired by hearing about my faith in God. But also, because, sadly and tragically, their daughter was murdered.
Eleanor let me know that she and Dick's pain was raw and deep. Also, that the man who killed their daughter had been arrested and sent to prison. And if I remember correctly, the crime happened in the 1970s. But as the years passed, at some point Eleanor tried to reach out to the man who took her daughter's life. She told me she felt the need to do this. She sent him a Bible as well. But nothing much became of it, so she and Dick let it go.
But with me, the correspondence that developed between Eleanor and Dick and I lasted well over twenty-five years. And as time went on, Eleanor would pass away. And Dick would follow his wife home to heaven not long afterwards. It was their daughter who wrote with the news that Dick went into eternity to join his wife.
I thanked their daughter for informing me about Dick's passing. I told her what a source of joy her parents had been. How they encouraged me in my own walk with Jesus, and how I was a better Christian because of them. I said it was an honor to know her mom and dad, and how they were "wonderful treasures" which God put in my life.
Dick and Eleanor loved me, not for my past, but for who I had become. And this was only by the grace of God. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing them in heaven, and we will also be meeting each other for the first time. But best of all, the Lord Jesus himself will be right there with us.
D.B.
While I never got to see the program, the responses I got from it were many. And one of those was from Eleanor. She and Dick were especially touched by what I was able to share. First, because they were devout Christians who were inspired by hearing about my faith in God. But also, because, sadly and tragically, their daughter was murdered.
Eleanor let me know that she and Dick's pain was raw and deep. Also, that the man who killed their daughter had been arrested and sent to prison. And if I remember correctly, the crime happened in the 1970s. But as the years passed, at some point Eleanor tried to reach out to the man who took her daughter's life. She told me she felt the need to do this. She sent him a Bible as well. But nothing much became of it, so she and Dick let it go.
But with me, the correspondence that developed between Eleanor and Dick and I lasted well over twenty-five years. And as time went on, Eleanor would pass away. And Dick would follow his wife home to heaven not long afterwards. It was their daughter who wrote with the news that Dick went into eternity to join his wife.
I thanked their daughter for informing me about Dick's passing. I told her what a source of joy her parents had been. How they encouraged me in my own walk with Jesus, and how I was a better Christian because of them. I said it was an honor to know her mom and dad, and how they were "wonderful treasures" which God put in my life.
Dick and Eleanor loved me, not for my past, but for who I had become. And this was only by the grace of God. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing them in heaven, and we will also be meeting each other for the first time. But best of all, the Lord Jesus himself will be right there with us.
D.B.