The story...
Dr. Charles Stanley died on April 19th, 2023 at 90 years of age. I loved my own father yet Charles Stanley served me as a sort of spiritual father for more than 40 years. I was crushed when a best friend shared the news with me - I grieved for about three hours yet the sense of loss lingered. I no longer have a mentor. Surely I had other mentors but they're gone too. I've strong friendships but they're not mentors. Maybe my mentors needed to go away for me to more fully trust in God - to work out the life of faith that I've been gifted with - to be a mentor.
I'm so... thankful that his ministry continues on YouTube. Strangely, his radio channel, and selected messages, are now even more meaningful to me. Maybe it's because I imagine him being with, and in, Christ at the right hand of God. That's my aim too.
The only church in town will minister to people in each season of life. Loving, learning, worshipping, praying, restoring, suffering, remembering, experiencing, praising, serving, mentoring, and saying goodbyes too. Hopefully, no person will be left behind.
Just for today...
"I didn't get many of the things that I needed to thrive emotionally and spiritually. Things like consistency, structure, encouragement, and acceptance of my feelings were missing . . . Caring for myself first is part of caring for others." Hope for Today (p. 162)
"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours." Richard Bach
