For every parent who has had their child snatched from the safety of their arms, may this painting give you comfort as it did us. The moment our precious Thomas (we called him Tommy Franks because he was a fighter) left us after a hospital battle for his life, Jesus took him into the safety of His strong arms.
Tragedy can come, but because of Jesus, our precious loved ones live again waiting for us to come to them. What a wonderful Christmas gift! Death lost it's boast of having the final say. Heaven became our final outcome. Praise God we will see... and hold... and kiss... and love on our Tommy again!
Good friends, we pray that you will experience that same joy. Please receive the wonderful gift that God has given you and your family...the gift of living again. Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the debt for all our sins. By the Holy Spirit's power, Jesus won the battle against the power of death and rose from His grave so that anyone and everyone who wants to can live again. Life is very precious to God. He wants all of us to live again in the safety and comfort of His arms.
Accept Jesus as your Life Giver and Receive His gift today! We'll see you in Heaven holding our precious Tommy and enjoy seeing you embracing your children!
Merry Christmas!
Tommy's family
Love
of the Father’s Son
By Steve Morton
10-4-12
What
can be said about Thomas? Much in every
way. Thomas is God’s poster child of
Jesus; what is sweet, innocent, holy and loving. In Thomas there was no malice towards
anyone. No lies were ever spoken from
his lips. He did not complain when he was
wronged. He loved all who were near and
far from him. He was not ordinary but
extraordinary. He was not natural but
super natural. He was a mystery and complex to the medical
world for they could not understand him, yet simple to those of us who knew
him. He had no enemies for everyone who had
seen him or knew of him instantly became his friend, and he loved them all.
As
a father who was raised by his father who in turn was raised by his father
before that, there just were certain things that a father was expected to
do. To provide for his family in good
times and bad, raise his children with respect and discipline sprinkled with
love and compassion. All fathers have a
great hope of having sons they can teach how to play baseball, football, go
fishing and hunting with. Fathers look
forward to the simple fellowship and raise their sons to be a father also.
It
seemed like my life was picture perfect with 3 sons and a daughter who even liked
to hunt and fish. My life was filled with
baseball, softball, soccer, football practices and games. Hunting and fishing were the norm. What more could a father ask for? Then our lives became just like the commercial
“when life comes at you fast” but
they left one thing out of that phrase. Not
only does it come fast but at times, it comes hard. Just when we thought our quiver was full and
done with diapers forever, along came our special surprise, Thomas. Our lives completely flipped upside down not
knowing what the issues or problems were fully, but we fought through every
battle.
As
a father, my life and expectations were shattered, so I thought. My time went from the adrenaline rush of ball
games to being in survival mode 24/7 for Thomas. The time I was able to spend and devote with
the other 4 children was drastically cut back.
For Katie she went from a ten year
old little girl to a mother. For Luke
and Nathan, at age seven and four, they became the big brothers and for
Jeremiah at twelve, he became a young man.
None of them grew up that fast by their own choice but, out of their love
for Thomas. To them, he was not heavy he
was their brother.
Thomas
soon became the center of our lives and we all rallied around him no matter
what battle he faced for that is what a family does. For eight years my hopes and expectations for
Tommy, as we called him, were always that someday I would be able to teach him
how to play ball or to hunt and fish like the other children. Little did I realize that it was not me, the
father, raising and caring for Tommy but, Tommy was raising me to be a real
father. Though he could not talk, I now
realize, through his love he did talk to me.
He said, “Dad why are you being selfish? I was never selfish with you? Dad, if I can endure my battles, hardship and pain
then you can endure your battles. Dad
why do dislike that person? When I met
them they became my friend. Dad, love
one another did you not see me love everyone I met”?
Through
the eight years of battles, I would find strength in the Lord. I have a daily routine where I have a time of
devotion and fellowship with the Lord before starting my day. As I went about my routine Thursday morning, I
glanced down and re-read what I had the day before, the day Tommy went to be
with the Lord.
1 John 4:7-10 “Dear friends, let us love one
another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one
and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he
loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
I
John 5:1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and
everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
I
John 5:3-5 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for
everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the
world, even our faith. Who is it that
overcomes the world? Only he who believes
that Jesus is the son of God.
I
John 5:11-12 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. He who has his son has
life; he who does not have the son of God does not have life.”
Little
did I know when I read this that morning how profound my day would become. By the end of the day, Tommy would take his
last breath in this earthly realm and be instantly catapulted into his eternal life; transformed in the
twinkling of an eye to be healed, delivered, and set free… all at the same
time.
We
mourn and grieve for our loss while he rejoices. Our loss is to his gain but shall we not
rejoice with him? And make it our gain
as well as his gain? It is not intended
for a parent to bury their own child but the child for the parent in old age,
but that is not reality. That is only a
great expectation and hope, but where is our faith without hope or a great
expectation?
The
devotion the following day, Friday, seemed to be equally profound which was 2
John. After I read it, it seemed to be
as if it were from the Lord for Mary and the children.
2
John 1:1 reads, “To the chosen Lady and her children, whom I love in the truth-
and not I only, but also all who know the truth- because of the truth, which
lives in us and will be with us forever: Grace , mercy and peace from God the
father and from Jesus Christ, the Fathers Son, will be with us in truth and
love. It has given me great joy to find your children walking in the truth,
just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear Lady, I am not writing you a new
command but one we have had from the beginning.
I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to
his commands. As you have heard from the beginning his command is that you walk
in love.”
Now
God created Tommy for our family but God also created all mankind to be in his
family and created him different and unique from all other creatures. He gave mankind a spirit and soul that no
other creatures have. The purpose was so
that God would have someone to fellowship and communicate with. But some would have you believe that man and
all creatures evolved from each other over millions of years. If that were true, then where is the chicken
that moos or the mouse that trumpets like an elephant or a monkey that speaks? For if that were true there would be creatures
stuck in the middle of their evolutionary change, but God created them all uniquely
and wonderfully made, just like He made Thomas.
In
order for man to fellowship and communicate with God, man created an altar. The altar was not for God for the entire
earth is His altar. The altar was a
symbolic point of contact for man by which he could approach God at the same
level to fellowship and talk to him. So
today, Thomas is at the foot of the altar praising and rejoicing his Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. To fellowship with the
Lord is an act that is freely given and received by him unconditionally to
anyone who approaches him. Today, there
may be someone reading this, who knew the Lord in their youth and desires to
rededicate their life or someone who wants to say to the Lord forgive me of all
my sins or for all the wrongs I have done, or someone who just wants to say
thank you Lord for being in my life and giving me eternal life. You can make your home an altar; a place
where you meet with God.
There
will be a point in time, maybe tonight, tomorrow, next year or in the next fifty
years that we all will be catapulted into our eternal destination. For tomorrow is promised to no man. I have a great expectation at that point in
time that I will be transformed in a twinkling of an eye and will once again be
with Tommy at which I can say, “Lets go play ball.” As for me and my family, since we have such a
great hope and expectation, we shall serve the Lord all the days of our lives.
Tommy’s father, Steve Morton
Copyright (c)2012
copy bywritten permission please
