On Friday, November 21 at 1:00 pm we will hold a worship
service to honor and say good bye to John Bond.
John and Lila are not just members of this church family, they are
foundational to it. Six weeks ago, there
was no apparent problem and John was recovering from shoulder surgery and
looking forward to getting back on the golf course.
The way John’s cancer progressed allowed him to have a
significant quality of life until his very last days. Then, when he was aware of what was happening he had time to make the needed
arrangements, to know what was happening and call in loved ones to say good
bye. One family member told me that God used
John’s illness and impending death as a way to have an impromptu “family
reunion.” One great part of this was
that this reunion included both biological and spiritual family. Together, there was a large crowd who
assembled throughout the mornings, afternoons and evenings of each day ... just
because of their love for John and Lila.
John was a unique man – he was funny, strong willed, loved
the Lord, kind, “particular” … and a host of other adjectives! One of the unique things about John and Lila
is their “unofficial” ministry to so many of the young couples in our church
family. They were surrogate parents and
grandparents to a host of these young couples whose biological families often
lived in another part of the country.
I am writing this both to honor John and because I need your
help. What is your
favorite memory of our friend John Bond?
Posted on
Thursday, November 20, 2008
by Paul White