A Tribute
Nine years ago tomorrow my father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, passed away without any warning. Total shock. I remember getting pulled out of a D.Min class I was taking at Regent University and Lora saying, "My dad died." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
We immediately drove from Virginia Beach back home to DC. We got on a plane the same day. And we flew back to Naperville. Those days surrounding the wake and the funeral are still a blur yet I remember so many isolated moments and little details from those days.
My father-in-law was only fifty-five and in the prime of ministry. He planted and pastored Calvary Church in Naperville, IL for 30+ years!
I believe that God numbers our days but I still don't understand the timing. Lots of unanswered questions in my Deuteronomy 29:29 file. But I am so grateful for his life and legacy. I honestly don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing without his influence in my life.
I'll never forget the motorcade of cars from the church to the cemetery. It stretched about five miles long. He left alot of people in his spiritual wake! I think that motorcade of cars is a picture of what can happen when you plant yourself in one place and pour your life into it. He gave thirty years of blood, sweat, and tears to Calvary Church in Naperville.
The example my father-in-law set is really the inspiration behind me wanting to pastor one church for life. I feel like Washington, DC is my parish. And Lord willing, I hope I have the privilege of pastoring National Community Church the rest of my ministry.
Hope I make half the difference my father-in-law made!
We immediately drove from Virginia Beach back home to DC. We got on a plane the same day. And we flew back to Naperville. Those days surrounding the wake and the funeral are still a blur yet I remember so many isolated moments and little details from those days.
My father-in-law was only fifty-five and in the prime of ministry. He planted and pastored Calvary Church in Naperville, IL for 30+ years!
I believe that God numbers our days but I still don't understand the timing. Lots of unanswered questions in my Deuteronomy 29:29 file. But I am so grateful for his life and legacy. I honestly don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing without his influence in my life.
I'll never forget the motorcade of cars from the church to the cemetery. It stretched about five miles long. He left alot of people in his spiritual wake! I think that motorcade of cars is a picture of what can happen when you plant yourself in one place and pour your life into it. He gave thirty years of blood, sweat, and tears to Calvary Church in Naperville.
The example my father-in-law set is really the inspiration behind me wanting to pastor one church for life. I feel like Washington, DC is my parish. And Lord willing, I hope I have the privilege of pastoring National Community Church the rest of my ministry.
Hope I make half the difference my father-in-law made!
1 Comments:
Just wanted to comment, I guess mainly because I was stirred by your tribute; my dad passed away 4 months ago, a complete shock, at age 57. We are pastoring a church plant that is still very small and he was a part of the original team commissioned out. It's hard enough to lose a member of the team, but so much worse when it's your dad.
I completely identified when you talked about the motorcade; my dad was part of the fire dept and we had no idea how many people he had touched with his quiet testimony. We are still finding out months later. The entire fire dept pulled out all the stops for the funeral including the entire motorcade driving through the bay of the firehouse that normally housed the tanker truck he drove, while they sounded the "final call" fire whistle. Something none of us, nor his grandchildren (all age 10 and under) will ever forget.
Your tribute to your father-in-law was touching and honoring; thanks for sharing it.
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