Yesterday you welcomed home a warrior. After years of pain and suffering, my friend Kevin Sheehan is finally at peace in your loving arms. Kevin a...
nd I met in the most humble of places, at a time when he had reached the end of himself and was ready to receive your love, forgiveness, and grace in his life.
What first struck me about Kevin was his deep hunger and commitment to change his life. What amazed me about Kevin was his incredible resilience and forgiving spirit after being falsely accused...after finding out he had cancer just when his life seemed to be turning around...after the pain and discouragement of life overwhelmed him and he briefly returned to old sources of comfort. Over and over and over and over again, when most people would have thrown in the towel, Kevin kept fighting, knowing that his hope was not in himself, or in this world, but in You alone. Indeed, what inspired me about Kevin most was his fierce and relentless hope in you. This morning, before learning of his passing, I was thinking about a verse Kevin and I often talked about -- "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Well, today, Kevin is seeing the truth of this verse in living color.
Thank you Jesus for the blessing of Kevin, thank you for his love and friendship, thank you for all the lessons you taught me through him, and for all the lives Kevin touched in his time on earth! I know there are people Kevin leaves behind who will be hurting and searching for answers. I pray Lord, that you would lead them to the same place Kevin found his answers -- YOU!
Father, please tell Kevin that I love him and will miss him; tell him that "this ain't the end, no way"; tell him to save me some of the good food up there; and tell him that I'm gonna beat his butt in darts when I get home! :)
With love and thankfullness,
Tom
Kevin's Favorite Passage of Scripture
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
What first struck me about Kevin was his deep hunger and commitment to change his life. What amazed me about Kevin was his incredible resilience and forgiving spirit after being falsely accused...after finding out he had cancer just when his life seemed to be turning around...after the pain and discouragement of life overwhelmed him and he briefly returned to old sources of comfort. Over and over and over and over again, when most people would have thrown in the towel, Kevin kept fighting, knowing that his hope was not in himself, or in this world, but in You alone. Indeed, what inspired me about Kevin most was his fierce and relentless hope in you. This morning, before learning of his passing, I was thinking about a verse Kevin and I often talked about -- "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Well, today, Kevin is seeing the truth of this verse in living color.
Thank you Jesus for the blessing of Kevin, thank you for his love and friendship, thank you for all the lessons you taught me through him, and for all the lives Kevin touched in his time on earth! I know there are people Kevin leaves behind who will be hurting and searching for answers. I pray Lord, that you would lead them to the same place Kevin found his answers -- YOU!
Father, please tell Kevin that I love him and will miss him; tell him that "this ain't the end, no way"; tell him to save me some of the good food up there; and tell him that I'm gonna beat his butt in darts when I get home! :)
With love and thankfullness,
Tom
Kevin's Favorite Passage of Scripture
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
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