Our sweet pastor

I'm totally heartbroken. Honestly, I feel a little empty. Our pastor, dr. Rick byargeon, passed away from cancer. He was diagnosed right after Thanksgiving. I can remember pulling up to Matt's office to go see the Christmas train that was coming through Ruston. I had all kids with me. Matt came out and he just stared at me. Then said he'd just gotten off the phone. "Rick has cancer". I don't think I thought of much else while we were there. I just couldn't comprehend it. As the days/months passed, I would get updates. Then, this past Tuesday, I was told that it wasnt good and wouldn't be long. I couldn't believe it. How? I had just been told that he spent most of a day or two at work. Matt and his friend even went to see him two weeks before he passed away. He was in pain but I didnt expect that he wouldn't be alive in two weeks. My heart is just broken for jonann!
Liz and I got this picture ready for the funeral. It was taken at my brothers wedding on September 29th. It's just not right. He was healthy (or so it seemed) in this picture. I can remember joking with him after the ceremony. It was the wettest, stormy wedding I have ever been to. The guys were just sinking into the ground....the ceremony was outside. I can remember Dr. Rick joking about it being the wettest wedding that he'd ever participated in. But I have to say this picture was PERFECT! Look at it. It's pouring down rain and Dr Rick is standing there with a smile on his face and his Bible under his arm. How appropriate. In the storms of life...in the worst pain of his life...yet he still clung to his Bible and the words that were written inside.


You know. I have wondered why he had to suffer. I know he had kind of a close call a few months back with some cardiac issues while he was in the hospital. I was processing all of this Thursday night and wondered why God didnt take him then. But you know what?! I truly believe that Dr. Rick needed to preach a few last times. I think he needed to make it very clear that he wasnt mad at God. There are so many that struggle with tragic losses. And how our God can do such a thing. The problem is that our loving Father doesn't DO these things to our loved ones. We live in a fallen world filled with sin!!!! Could God have healed him? Yes! I do believe that God can do anything he choses. Do I understand why he didnt chose to heal Dr. Rick? No, I do not. But we can't harp on that. We know our Father is a loving God. He will take care of us. We are sad...of course!!!! We miss our pastor! But I KNOW there is a plan. It's hard to see when you are in the middle of the pain.
Dr. Rick is healed... Just not in the way we would've liked. I'm just sad for Jonann and for our church. We will miss his leadership.
I will end with probably one of my first memories of dr Rick (on his second time at tbc). Matt and i had just had our first miscarriage. Dr. Rick and Jason came over one night to see us and pray with us. I was still sore because I had just had the D&C and I was very tired. Our house was a disaster because I had been on bedrest for two weeks prior to the miscarriage. I remember calling Liz and saying that I really didnt want them coming because I didnt feel like cleaning and she said "honey, do not clean. You shouldn't be cleaning. Just take all of the stuff laying around and throw it on your bed. Just tidy up the den and kitchen Bc that's where they will be. ". I said "are you sure". She said "yes. They will visit a minute and pray with you and leave. They will NOT look around your house."
I was feeling really good about my tidy den and kitchen. Dr Rick and Jason came. We visited. We prayed. Then, I bet you could see this coming, Dr. Rick started asking questions about our house. Who built it? When it was built? How many bedrooms? I want to see the rest of the house.
I think I might have fainted a little. I let out a "suuuure but its a wreck". He proceeded to the master...where Liz had told me to pile all the junk from the den and kitchen. Sigh. And I'm fairly certain there were dirty clothes all over my bathroom floor. I was so embarrassed. However, he never acted like it was any big deal. I told jonann that story when she was here right after Larkin was born. I do make sure I pick up dirty clothes off the bathroom floor before anyone comes over!
I don't know why but that story always makes me smile. Dr.Rick didnt care about my messy house. He was really checking out all of the molding, etc. :)
We sure will miss him. I had to sit Trigger down and try to explain it to him. Those two boys have prayed "please make dr Rick get better" every single meal and at night. I didnt know how it would go over since trigger had prayed so hard for him. This was our conversation:
I showed him a picture of dr. rick and he said "that's dr Rick. Was he not sick in that picture"
Of course I started crying. I talked about him being really sick and I told him that he didnt get any better and went to heaven to be with Jesus.
He said "but we prayed for him". I told him that sometimes God has a different plan and that he wanted dr Rick to go to heaven.
And I'm still crying at this point. And he said "why are you crying". I said "because I am sad. I'm going to miss dr Rick". He said. "You can see him again when you go to heaven". He hugged me. More was said to reiterate that we wouldn't see him again at church. A few minutes later he said "when you get old like this (and made a wrinkled face), you can go to heaven and play with dr Rick. It will be fun."
Wow! I guess I need to take lessons from my 4 year old! So true. We should hold onto the promise that we will see him again!
To say that Dr. Rick was an amazing teacher of Gods word would be a huge understatement. He will be greatly missed by so many!

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