For my dear departed friend. Joe Gavin.

Joe Gavin, was a tall slim man. He was awful at telling jokes and his puns would make you grimace. An avid bird watcher, husband and Christian. I am in awe of his faith! I do not know anybody like this man. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurones Disease. He soon realised that this was a death sentence. His friends weren’t as quick to understand the implications of the disease. Though it became apparent very quickly. He was deteriorating rapidly, losing the use of his right hand then his whole arm, in what seemed like weeks. I call him my friend, yet I don’t know how he maintained such a positive attitude in the face of death. He was the Chef of our church, cooking for almost every event in the church for years, on a voluntary basis. The only money he would take from church was to buy food. During the toughest periods, when life was hard for him, he would not complain. He didn’t cook for the church, in his words “I cook for God.” That was his God given task and he did it to the best of his ability, turning out many great dishes on a shoe string budget. I pulled him to one side once, when things were going badly and asked if he needed help. His response was so selfless: “I have all I need through God.” I honestly doubted his sincerity at the time but time proved again and again, that this was a man of God, not clergy, just through his faith. I wept for him in church today, I’m tearing up as I write this. We were given an order of service, I glanced through, 2 things stuck out for me, firstly the second hymn,
Blessed be Your name, in the land that is plentiful
where Your streams of abundance flow;
Blessed be Your name.
I’ll spare you the whole hymn, suffice to say, it suited Joe’s attitude to God. The second thing that stuck out, was right at the end, the very last piece of writing: http://optomisticjoe.muchloved.com I held my hand up, to say a few words, was given the microphone and quoted the link, it summed him up so perfectly! I ask that you share this, as it is a link that leads to a tribute fund, set up in Joe’s memory, through the Motor Neurones Disease Association. Please visit and make a donation.

Why did God let such a devout man die, despite all our prayers for his recovery? I have to say, I do not know…What I do know, from Joe and various friends, is that God truly loved and blessed him. How can a man face death, with a happy heart and still loving God? The answer is, Faith. Knowing you are going home to your Eternal Father, what more could any person of faith want.

I will miss you, Joe Gavin. R.I.P. my friend.