WE WILL NOT FORGET GARY

IN MEMORY OF GARY, MY FAITHFUL, LOVING AND GODLY HUSBAND WHOM I MISS DEARLY

Today is the first anniversary of his passing. It is sometimes still hard to believe.
I have received a lot of calls and emails today, even flowers, cards, and visits.
Thank you all for your continued thoughtfulness and prayers. The support is overwhelming!

I want you to know that throughout this past year God has been my daily comfort, everlasting Savior and best-friend. He promises never to leave us or forsake us. He cares!

In one of Gary's last letters to me (November 2011) he wrote...As a child of God, you will never be left alone, as He is a father to the fatherless and will supply all your needs as He has promised in His word.
He left several references in the margin for me to look up.  Isaiah 41:10 sums them all up.
 Fear not, for I am with you;
 Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
 I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
 I (the Lord God) will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

That promise is to everyone who believes in Him. He wants to do all that for you too. Go to Him today.

Joanne

P.S. I have been keeping very busy with two children still at home, going back to college to refresh my nursing career and keeping up with friends and family.

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My sister, Lucy, emailed me this poem some time ago and I would like to share it with you.

I can only imagine that this poem might have been recited by Gary today if he were able to do so.

SAFELY HOME

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,
Every restless tossing passed;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! But Jesus' love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus' arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still:
Try to look beyond earth's shadows,
Pray to trust our Father's Will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now, while life remaineth--
You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you Home;
Oh, the pleasure of that meeting,
Oh, the joy to see you come!

-author unknown


EULOGY FOR GARY’S FUNERAL SERVICE by Steve Vandenbrink

Well, it has been a good many years since I stood on this side of the mike here, but it is a real honor, and a humbling thing to have been asked to speak a few words about Gary. But how do you put a life into just a few words? I would like to share just a few snapshots if you will, or highlights about Gary that made him into the man we loved so much.

He had a bit of a rough start. Although he was born into a brand new home in Holland, it was not an easy go. When we think of a brand new house, we think of a nice, cozy place. But we have to remember, this was Holland. Everything was built of brick, with heavy coats of masonry that had not even begun to dry yet, and the walls running with moisture all winter long. It seemed like he had a bit of a rough go of it. He ended up with a chronic cough and sniffles, didn’t do really well but he made it through and it made him into a tough fighter I suppose.

Another experience that helped that, was when one day he accompanied us on one of our scavenger hunts to the dump. He fell into a place where they had been burning garbage and he got badly burned on his knees and his legs. Again I think that changed him quite a bit. You know, he did not complain much, but he soon realized that when the bandages were being changed the amount of screaming he could do while they were actually being changed didn’t begin to do justice to the pain. So he would get a head start and when the nurses walked into the room, he would start screaming already, and they came to dread those sessions I think, more than he did! But he made it through and again it made him tough.

The next big change in his life was immigrating to Canada, or I should say our homecoming. You know, that did a lot for him. His chronic cough, his bronchitis and all that stuff just totally disappeared, and he thrived in this country. He did really well physically.

Another big change was the move to the farm in Carlingford. You know, being part of this church community and also getting involved with the Meinen boys. Suddenly each day was filled with adventure and excitement. You never knew what was going to happen there, but it was always fun and it was always exciting! And as he grew up, he grew into a handsome young man.

Another big change came when he turned sixteen and got his license and his own car. I think the change was even more in his older sibling’s mind then it was in his own! You know, up until that time he had been a little brother that always tagged along, a little pesky at times, but suddenly he was an adult, and an equal at that. All of a sudden it was fun to go out with him. We would take turns driving places and there were all kinds of stuff we did together. There were a lot of camping trips. There were some other trips into different congregations to check out what they had in the line of girls. There were all kinds of stuff you could do together all of a sudden, and he became a fun guy to be with.

But, you know the biggest single milestone of his life, I think, was the time when he realized that when Jesus died on the cross he didn’t just die for the sins of the world, but he also died for his sins. And he realized that when God offered salvation it was for him as well, and he ran to that and got the assurance of sins forgiven, and a place in Heaven with God. I think that changed him more than anything else before or after, it changed the whole course of his life, his character and everything.

Aside from salvation, (which is the biggest thing that can ever happen to us of course) was Joanne. And Joanne, you know, you have been good for him. When she first started to appear, she looked like a shy, innocent red-headed girl. Well, she is still red headed, and she is still pretty innocent, I think. It was not very long before we realized that Gary had found his soul-mate. And it wasn’t really, really long before we knew this was going to be permanent, this was the one!



Now, it wasn’t that things went entirely without a ripple in the Vandenbrink homestead. Remember, this is the man we are talking about who, when he did a re-modeling project at his home made 27 different blue prints before he found one that had all the bugs worked out of it and that was perfect.

Now, it wasn’t that there was ever any doubt about Joanne being the right one. That was not an issue, but you know, Gary felt like he was not sure whether he would make a good enough husband, a good enough father, or a good enough spiritual leader in the home and yet- he need not have worried, for he did really well. If there ever was a match that was made in heaven, this was the one, and together they made quite a team.

They started out at Kipp’s Lane in London and pretty soon it became very obvious that they were going to break the rule of adults only in the building, so they moved to a farm in Anderson and together they made it into a beautiful home-place. They lovingly restored the house, planted thousands of trees and raised a beautiful family there. As the toddlers turned into teens it became a very busy place indeed. There were always extra cars sitting around, and amazingly quite often those things didn’t seem to run quite right when they arrived at Garys!! They would talk about their vehicles with Gary, and he would patiently listen to all the symptoms. Then he would say: it is probably this or that, but let’s have a look at it. When the cars would leave, they would be purring happily, and so would their owners because Gary could fix anything!

In the mean while there were a lot of camping trips, and a lot of fun together. Gary also was quite involved in out-reach for a few years. We had a gospel trailer and we used to go around to the fairs telling gospel stories. But as the family got older and things got busier, Gary also got more and more involved here in the work of the local church, so the out-reach got put on the back burner a little bit. Not that he didn’t do out-reach anymore, but it was in a different place of service. Those were good years though weren’t they? They seemed to go all too fast, especially the camping trips, they were special. Gary would organize these big camping trips for all the siblings. We would book places all together in a provincial park. Those were good times!

When the diagnosis came of his illness it shook us all to the core. You know, we never thought he would be the first one to go of all of us. Things always seemed to go right for him. Everything seemed to be well-organized and running like a Swiss watch. And yet Gary accepted it with the same calm faith and assurance that had come to characterize his life and this is what he wrote in his blog: He said, "… the prospect of standing before my creator suddenly brings all kinds of things to my mind. But I know that because of Jesus’ saving work on the cross I should have no concerns and trust Him in all things, rejoicing at the prospect of meeting Him."

Gary never complained. He could have been angry; he could have complained and said, Why me? I don’t think that was ever the issue. But there was a deep regret about not being able to be here longer for his family. I think he actually looked forward to going to heaven and so should we all if things are right with us. He also had a deep concern for his friends who did not know the Savior yet. You know, when he wrote in his blog… there was a time when he wrote about heaven and tried to imagine what it would be like: the joy of waiting for others and meeting others that had gone before already. And then he shared with those of his friends who do not have this yet....and this is what he wrote: Those of you who have a relationship with Jesus as Savior will be able to empathize with this, but those of you who read this blog and know nothing of this, I would like to ask you, "What would happen at the end of your life?" All of us will someday have to face our Maker. Many people believe that to get into heaven all you have to do is die, but the Bible tells us rather that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

(Romans 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death.(Romans 6:23) This is not just physical death, but separation from God for all eternity in hell. Because all have sinned, unless God’s anger is appeased, our default destination is Hell and not Heaven. This is hard to understand for us because we tend to judge our actions and morality by society’s standards, and by the way others act. If there is a God who created everything however, He has the right to set standards and He has done so in this book the Bible. God in his love has provided a way of escape for us from punishment however. The same verse that tells us of punishment, ends with…. the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 1 John 4:10 says, "This is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." The secular jailor in Philippi, who met the early apostles in the early days of the church, was convicted of his sin and asked, "Sirs, What must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Jesus Himself said. "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Mathew 11:28) 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." All who recognize that they deserve God’s punishment for sin and follow God to the best of their ability and trust that Jesus took their punishment, will be forgiven and one day share eternal joy in Heaven...That was Gary’s concern for all.

You know Kids – your father loved you passionately, but you probably knew that already. And his desire for you was not first of all that you would be successful in business, or find a lovely partner, as some of you have done already, but his main concern was that you would always love the Lord and put Him first. In connection with this, we all have to make some choices, don’t we? We can either be angry at God, you know, be dissatisfied because of the years we didn’t get with Gary, or we can be thankful for the years God has given us. You know, these last couple have been pretty special, haven’t they? They were a real gift from God, more than anyone expected. The way we answer that question will change the course of our life.

I would like to just read a couple of verses and then I am done. Something he put in his blog: A song he liked. He said, "When I go, don’t cry for me, in my Father’s arms I’ll be. The wounds this world left on my soul will all be healed, and I’ll be whole. Sun and moon will be replaced with the light of Jesus face. And I will not be ashamed, for my Savior knows my name.

The last verse says, "So weep not for me, my friend, when my time below does end, for my life belongs to him, who will raise the dead again. It does not matter where you bury me, for I’ll be home and I’ll be free. It doesn’t matter where I lay, all my tears be washed away."

Well, little brother, you ran a good race, and we have not come to say goodbye, but rather we’ll see you later! As Emily put it so well last night: You beat us all home! We have the full expectation we will see him again.........Thank you.

This is a written copy (taken from the service CD) of the eulogy given by Steve Vandenbrink at the funeral of his brother Gary.