THANK YOU, GRAMPA EAYRS – OCTOBER 2009
Posted on: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 07:30 AM
Thank you letter for Grampa Eayrs’ life
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On 23 September at 20:40 Dad (Hugh Eayrs) passed into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, after a long and very fruitful life in the service of His Lord and Saviour at the age of 88 years.
This happened after the Lord granted me my last wish for Dad, that I have the privilege of caring for him, as he completed his journey through the “valley of the shadow of death”. While at times sad and stressful, because he had to persevere with extreme suffering towards the end, it has nevertheless been a most blessed and comforting journey for me and hopefully one through which God has been glorified.
Dad was my last surviving parent, Mom passed away in 2002 and Mally’s parents a decade before. So, for the first time in my life, I’m at the helm and am beginning to understand the dynamics of this new reality in my life.
I’m realising more and more the significance of:
· God in His Sovereignty choosing Dad to be the father through whom I would be brought into the world;
· God in His Providence giving me Dad with all his natural talents (sporting, engineering, social environmental, pioneering) and Christian spiritual gifts (helps, evangelism, mission, caring) to be one of my most cherished mentors;
· God growing Dad’s insatiable love for the transforming truth of the Word of God;
· Dad as the head of the home, calling on God in prayer for his sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the people of Africa;
· Dad living in a shrinking world and ailing body, manifesting a commitment to persevere to the end with an invincible Faith in Christ that was accepting of all that God was permitting the devil to throw at him;
In the final hours of his life, when pain was wrecking his whole body, we spoke together of how Jesus “would never leave us nor forsake us…” Yes Son, you are right, he said: “He knows the way I take and when He has tested me, I will come forth as pure gold.” Job 23:10
Now that he is gone, I know that I will never again have the privileged benefit of his discipleship, fatherly care and advice, inspiring example, discipline and encouragement and passionate prayer.
What I think I will miss most, is the Godly confidence with whom I was always able to receive counsel, on things theological, missiological, personal and eternal.
Why do I tell you all this?
For two reasons:
Firstly, to have you share in my Thanksgiving to God for the father he gave me. If God should bring me to mind in your prayer times, please ask the Lord to keep me, like Dad, “faithful to the end”.
Secondly, to Thank you in Jesus’ name for your most blessed ministry into Dad’s life over the past 70 years.
From the moment of his conversion, at differing levels, and through various means, so many of God’s children have invested in his life. As far as I know, you are one of them. It may have been your pastoral ministry over a number of years, or a one sentence prayer on one occasion. Together this tsunami of corporate ministry, by God’s grace; as “some sowed and others reaped” enabled Dad to be a blessing to others.
As one who benefited, possibly more than others, I want to say “Thank you” – thank you very much for allowing God to make you a blessing to Dad so that he in turn was able to be a blessing to others.
May our Lord bless you and reward you and keep you faithful to the cause of the Gospel until our ministry on earth is done.
Warm Christian Greetings,
Trevor
