“I was thinking of your son tonight. If you take one thing, make it this: I was thinking of him and, desperately wishing you and the rest of the world still had him around” – Middle school student
“He needed help and no one else was going to do it.” – Braden
“We outlive our life by helping make a difference in the lives of others.” – Gena Kelly Ellis
It was an early morning in May of this year. Only a few months earlier, mom had lost our dad after 70 years of marriage and together raising four children. Now, her first child was also gone. Randy fought a battle against cancer for ten years, ironically to be be taken by the terrible toll of its “cure”. Throughout that night, I’d sat by his bed watching his life slowly leave his body. This was a goodbye we never wanted but now all welcomed. Around 1:00AM Randy found the peace that alluded him since he was a teenager. Later that morning, needing rest myself for the day that lay ahead, I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. Finally, I gave up and rolled over to clear email.
Evidently, I wasn’t alone in my restlessness. A complete stranger somewhere in the world had also been unable to sleep and thankfully had chosen to write a letter to me. God somehow knows our needs well before we do and this stranger’s note arrived right on time. Scanning my in-tray, something familiar caught my eye. Buried among hundreds of messages, a single word caught my eye. The subject line simply read…“Braden”.
A Turtle Tale
The email was from a stranger. He and our son had attended middle school together a decade earlier. Their paths crossed briefly while our family lived in Katy, TX just outside Houston. The writer admitted to the two having very different personalities. Now with hindsight and benefit of time, his perspective had deepened. The writer shared a story he couldn’t forget about a morning when they were carpooling together with the kid’s dad. I could just picture the backseat over-crowded with kids and backpacks. The guys had all talking and laughing when someone noticed a turtle sitting in the middle of the busy street. Suddenly, without hesitation, Braden threw open the car door, jumping to grab the turtle and to relocate it to safety.
Everyone in that car had to think this Braden kid must be insane. In fact, the writer recalled thinking it was the most idiotic thing he’d ever witnessed. Yet now looking back, he couldn’t erase the indelible impression it left on him. This “crazy” kid had instinctively acted to help while risking his own comfort and safety. Braden was uniquely understanding and knew too well how most people wouldn’t even think much of a helpless creature, much less choose to step out and save it.
Planting Seeds
It was November 2025. I’d never met the lady until I attended a memorial service in our hometown of Brownfield. The stranger approached me quietly and introduced herself as Gena. She said I may not know her but she’d known our grandfather, Grady Dickson over fifty years earlier.
Our Grandad Dickson passed away when I was still very young. He suffered for years with severe rheumatoid arthritis and relied heavily on a walking cane. Though living daily with excruciating pain, my mom tells us our grandfather never once complained. Though I didn’t know him personally, the legacy of stories shared through many others in our community have painted a distinct impression of his character.
Gena whispered her story. Her husband’s grandfather was a cotton farmer like our grandad, but these two men had differences. She said Mr. Dickson led a Bible study at the church and the men all knew the man wasn’t living right or leading his family well. They’d been praying for him, but one day Mr. Dickson chose to do something unusual. While the man was plowing on his tractor, Mr. Dickson came for a visit. He walked into the field, right in front of that tractor. The farmer had to decide whether to run over Mr. Dickson or stop.
She continued. “In the middle of that cotton field Mr. Dickson introduced him to Jesus”. Her story left me with a very clear image of my grandfather, although we never knew each other. This lost man had been trying to work and provide for his family, but while he was busy farming, our grandfather was planting seeds. Gena told me the seed planted that day grew in time to change the man’s life. He learned to lead his family well and to serve as a spiritual leader they’d long needed. His example also served as a lasting influence on subsequent generations. A few months later , I stumbled onto an article Gena wrote for our hometown newspaper. She summarized the lesson well. “We outlive our life by helping make a difference in the lives of others”.
This week marks an anniversary our family doesn’t want but will never forget. This is not an event I could have imagined adding on our family calendar, but some years ago, Cathy added it as a recurring reminder: “Our boy is Home”. Our family still wrestles with unanswered questions, but the prevailing one is why we were only allowed a few years together. We’ve come to more clearly realize how valuable those 18 years were. We’ve come to better understand that a life of 18 years, 100 years, or merely one second should never be measured in time, but rather by its impact on the lives of those left still living after our time here is done.
Today as I woke with my daily prayer, asking for peace (my “Four P’s” – see previous blog), I received an encoring text from from someone who I first met eight years ago in my own home as he knelt weeping at my wife’s side and holding her hand. Stuart Blasingame and his team of First Responders served us with amazing grace and care. This stranger is now a treasured friend who we consider family. I can think of no better example of someone stepping in to help others unselfishly.
In my prayer, God revealed why it’s been more difficult to write lately. He reminded me that my own story is exactly that of that cotton farmer. You see, on the early morning after we lost our son, I met Jesus. Although He’d known me very well from day one and had sacrificed His life for mine, I had stubbornly refused to accept His hand and a real relationship. Sadly, it took losing a most valued earthly treasure to finally accept the assurance of the eternal treasures in Heaven, where our boy resides, eagerly anticipating our arrival. The irony and blessing of these events will never go unacknowledged. Our family is blessed to count so many who have chosen to walk alongside us these years. They have served us as Jesus serves and we’ve learned from it. Thank you.
READER: I’m thankful today that God helped me finally write again. I find it helpful and I pray by sharing openly, it may help others. God often works most effectively through His people. By their testimonies about this Jesus, they leave lasting impressions.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for grace, forgiveness, and patience with our stubbornness. Some of us are more stubborn than others! Thank You for the blessings of others willing to serve sacrificially to help us on our individual journeys through this life. I pray that we will learn to better serve one another similarly because our only true purpose is to follow and to reflect You. Amen
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or van conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 2:3-5
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” – John 13: 14-15
“Serve one another humbly in love” – Galatians 5:13
