"He Shall Be Missed"

His name was Louis Sudduth. Louis passed away last year with covid. It was a big shock to us all. Louis was my Bible study teacher who taught us to dig in and give him our feelings about the study we were doing at the time. Sometimes we stayed in the study for weeks. Most of the time, the sermon went right along with our study at that particular time. He challenged us to grow our faith in God in ways I truly never had anyone ever do.

He not only showed us these things in church but in his everyday life. My son Jeremy and I were having some hard times. Jeremy had lost his job. I had moved in with him to help him out. But, eventually, he lost everything his home and his children. We had others help us with food, funds, and even a place to stay through the church.

Louis had taken Jeremy under his wing, guiding him and telling him of the things that he had overcome in his youth. The house we were given to live in until he found a job was actually a home that should have been condemned. We had water and electricity, but no heat or a/c. It had a fireplace, though, and we used it to stay warm.

We had moved in on November 27, 2016, and it started getting cold. There was no wood and no way of getting it. Our funds were limited to a small rental fee, utilities, and food. Louis overheard me one morning before Bible study that we had no heat and no way to afford firewood. After church, he asked me for the address and if I would be home Monday afternoon. I told him, yes, and he said that he would be there around 4 pm, that he had something for me and he needed to deliver it.

I didn't think of what it could be or even ask because he turned and walked away after giving him the address. He showed up with a truckload of wood. We unloaded it and gave him the biggest hug he ever had. He brought us 16 cords of firewood that winter. He had also told another member about us having no heat, and they brought us a floor heater, which I used only at night in my room. Jeremy had one for his room.

He was a man who loved others to the point that it didn't matter if it cost him. Louis had paid for all that wood out of his own pocket. I miss his hugs, but most of all, his challenges to dig deeper in the word of God and to grow in it. I try every Sunday to follow that example by digging into the study I am in now. I sometimes imagine him sitting there saying, "Baby girl, how does this verse speak to you?" in his deep southern drawl. Then sit there and wait for my answer.


Notes ▼

Word Count: 500

Entry for

FORUM

The Christian Writing Contest  (E) Featured in Schnujo's CONTEST CHALLENGE for June 2021! #1376214 by ruwth

Prompt for June:

Tell us about a Christian who has shown love. It can be anyone from Mother Theresa to your grandmother, friend, neighbor—any Christian who has loved as Jesus loves.

Dedicated to my friend Louis, you are loved and missed very much.