(Feb-14-2012) This past October Ted and I drove to the Atlanta, Ga., area for several reunions of family, friends, a large church group, and my high school class gathering. These annual meetings are getting more precious by the year as many of our family members are getting up in age, some suffering health issues, and many deaths seem to have happened in the past three years. My high school classmates and I have a three-day reunion because so many travel now from so far to be present. We have more fun than the law allows, but never get into serious trouble of any kind.

Normally we rent a state park and have found that these locations meet our needs nicely. We have the conference center…or main lodge for a banquet and dinner dance and nice rooms for the couples, or close friends, plus beautiful scenic grounds to enjoy. Often there is a lake or river and this year we had the spectacular treasure of Unicoi Falls. Hiking, boating, and golf takes up free time and the ladies always get in some shopping, too. This year, Ted and I were able to rent a mountainside lodge cabin where we hosted four smaller reunions along with the larger group gatherings.

One of the special treats of this year’s Forrest Hills Baptist Church reunion was getting to meet so many of the children and grandchildren of old friends. My special friend, Dixie King Babbs, from Dalton, Ga., attended and she was accompanied by her 50-year-old son, Jim. We had such fun, made wonderful memories, took lots of photographs, and laughed at old stories shared among the many friends.

Jim was a special person. He was in real estate, the president of his homeowners’ association in Chattanooga, the voice of the high school football, baseball, and basketball teams, and an avid worker at his church. He hugged me tightly as the family left the hall and said how much fun he had enjoyed. “I love you, Miss Brenda, and always have. See you soon.”

When Ted and I returned to the beach, not quite two weeks later, I received a telephone call from Dixie. “Brenda, Jim is dead,” she said straight up. “What do you mean? Jim who? Who is dead?” “My son, Jim, who was just at the reunion died a little while ago and I wanted to tell you myself. He was visiting his mother and father in law and they were sitting at the table laughing and talking and he clutched his chest and slumped over,” Dixie calmly explained to me. “By the time the emergency service workers arrived, they knew he was dead.” Jim’s lifeless body was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Everyone was simply stunned.

As far as everyone knew, Jim was healthy, worked every day at his busy office, took part in so many activities, and was such an outgoing, friendly, fun guy, with a smile on his face always. He called his mother every day of the year to check on her and often cooked meals to share with his family.

His lovely wife Rhea and stunning teenage daughter Madison were in states of shock. No one could quite register the news. Jim’s younger brother, Steve, could not come to grips with what he had been told in the early hours, but rallied and was great support for the entire family. He had suffered a major coronary and died instantly the family was told.

Funeral arrangements were made at his home church and on the night of Jim’s visitation, more than 600 people filed through the funeral home to offer respect and condolences. It fell to Jim and Dixie to clean out Jim’s real estate office a few days following the burial. Upon entering the office, the first thing that caught their eye was a bright pink sign with the letters “i.g.b.o.k.” Steve asked his mom, “What does that mean?” Each made a guess and later confirmed that it was a sticker given out by Jim’s home church offering hope to those who read it. “It’s gonna be OK.” “Whatever happens,” according to the designer, “God is in control and it is going to be all right.”

You’ll never in this lifetime convince Dixie and Steve that Jim did not purposely leave that message for them to help cheer them after his death. His wife Rhea said she remembered the stickers, shirts, and other objects with the same writing on them being given out at church. “Jim loved that hope,” she said. “He had been in real estate for years, but these past two years had been rough. The economy and the market in Chattanooga was down and he was struggling, so he put that logo everywhere he spent time to remind him that things would work out because God is in control.

I have no way of knowing what any of our readers might be dealing with today as I write this column, but I do know that somehow, some way, things will work out for each of us if we put our faith and trust in God, our creator and keeper. I do know several that are in the fight of their lives with cancer, others who have chemotherapy treatments scheduled, surgeries, family issues, financial frights, loss of jobs, and hurting children. I know folks who are struggling to pay the month’s bills and do not know where the next groceries will come from to their home. God knows and He is in control. Trust Him and everything will work out. It might not be exactly as you planned it, but things can happen that we cannot foresee. I am so grateful that we planned that reunion, drove to Georgia, and that we got to spend time with Jim who went to heaven only two weeks later. God bless his family and all those who are hurting today.

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