uncle jim

yesterday afternoon my great Uncle Jim died. i imagine his reunion with his beloved wife Betty was sweet. and seeing Jesus face-to-face, awesome.

tim's and my relationship with uncle Jim developed when we moved to denver in 2003. That fall Uncle Jim and Aunt Betty took us out to their favorite french restaurant. That night was the first of many fantastic dining experiences with Uncle Jim. He had great taste in food!

Uncle Jim hosted great parties! He loved getting together with his friends, having delicious food, drinking wine and simply being together. He was constantly learning - he enjoyed reading. He and Tim would often talk about the books they had been reading, theology and the things they were learning. And almost every time we were together he would urge us to consider going to school to get our PhD. Uncle Jim and Betty loved to travel. The reason he didn't finish his PhD was because they decided to invest in their travel instead.

Uncle Jim loved his friends. I have never seen a community of people quite like his friends, especially in the last few months of his life. He was able to remain at home because of the care and support of his friends.

I will miss Uncle Jim. I will miss his passion for life. I will miss his wisdom. I will miss eating amazing food with him. But my heart rejoices because he is with the two people he loves most - Betty and Jesus. Even after Betty died he would always end our phone conversations by saying, "we love you." I guess after a lifetime of loving someone it is hard to say "i". And oh he loved his Savior. He had a heart to see the lost come to life in Christ. He spent his professional life as a pastor - I know there will be many at his funeral that were at one time in a community he was leading. His gentleness and wisdom spoke of his time spent with the Lord, as did his love for people and the Church.

I trust that when the Lord brings me Home Uncle Jim will be there to greet me and will have some of his favorite restaurants already picked out for us to visit and enjoy together.