We received word last night that my husband's best friend for nearly 50 years, has died. It was such a shock for we did not know he had been ill. We didn't talk that often as he lived in Florida, but had probably talked two-three times this year. Gary Stewart Licho was a special man.
I didn't know Gary well, having met him when I married Tom 30 years ago. But I loved him. Gary was like a big teddy bear. 6'3" with about 300 pounds or so packed on his tall frame, he was tough, but tender. He was well known in the food industry (Sysco, Kraft, etc) and companies would often barter over him, wanting him to work for them because of his expertise. He retired about a year ago from Sysco in Illinois and moved to Florida with his wife.
Tom called Gary's wife after we received the call from her caretaker as she couldn't bring herself to call us. She knew the love between Gary and Tom, the bond of friendship. We heard the news that Gary had been sick since February, but didn't want anyone to know - especially Tom. He wanted Tom to remember him as he was, not as what multiple myleoma would do to his body. He died Sunday at the hospital.
As the memories of Gary flooded our minds and hearts - memories of him playing Darth Vader and meeting us at the gate of his gated community when we visited him in California was one of them. He was so funny. He even had the right voice! He would walk through the airport being goofy if it would make you laugh. He rarely sat in a lounge chair; his preference was stretching out his large frame on the front room floor to watch television.
Gary would make a pot of coffee continuously and drink it all day long. He was tough, but loving and kind. He was a good friend, a cherished memory.
We often prayed for Gary for he, for many years, wanted nothing to do with God. He didn't see the need or believe in Him. But he had a wife that did. As Elizabeth sat by his bedside near the end of his life, she would read to him from the Bible. Sunday, she was reading to him from the book of John. She paused, looked at Gary, and told him that soon he would be meeting Jesus in Heaven, and also his parents. She asked him - 'do you see Jesus?'. He got a big smile on his face, and breathed his last.
With that smile, we believe our prayers for Gary were answered.
What about you? Are you going to wait until the very end in hopes that you, like Gary, will have time to surrender to Jesus? Most people don't have that few valuable seconds before they are gone. Are you willing to live as you are now, knowing that you can be taken in seconds?
Is your life right with God? We were brought up being told that if you are a Christian you can't dance, you can't drink, you can't cuss, you can't... you can't... you can't.... What we have learned over the years in our studies is that Jesus didn't say you 'can't'. He said 'go and sin no more'. He doesn't identify a specific sin, He doesn't say one sin is bad and another not so bad.
The first step is to accept Jesus as Lord of your life, to surrender everything to Him. He will tell you what He wants you to give up. He will cause you to want to remove those things from your life - but it is in His timing and in your will. No one can tell you that you need to do this or that. As you grow in Jesus, you will choose to give up some things. Maybe not all; but the key is accepting Jesus as Lord, and allow Jesus to tell you what He wants you to give up.
How do you do that? Say something like this....
"Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart. I'm sorry for all my sins, past and present, and I ask for Your forgiveness. There are some things in my life I'm not ready to give up, so I give You permission to reveal to me as I grow in You, what You desire for me to let go of. Show me that these things do not have me in bondage and that I can walk away from them. I trust You to help me along this new journey I have chosen to take. Thank you for not giving up on me, Jesus. Amen."
John 3:16 - 21 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
Gary Stewart Licho - we love you. We will miss you terribly here on earth, and are looking forward to seeing you in heaven!
Blessings!
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