It's been a year. Father Jim Swearingen passed away in the early hours of last June 3rd. I still think about him often. I'm certain I will remember him forever. My blog entries last June 4th and again on the 10th were about him, but there is so much I didn't say. Father Jim was a priest, and a friend, but there was more. He was the kind of person that so many of us strive to be. He was full of love and he gave that love freely.
I shared Thanksgiving dinner with him and his wife and other friends on a number of occasions. Last Thanksgiving, his wife joined my sister and I for dinner. Conversation kept heading toward favorite memories of Father Jim and both my sister and I remembered how he had come to our mother's funeral just two months before he died on a morning when he had little strength and really should not have left his bed. That was not who he was though. He wanted to be there in person to pray in the church during our mother's funeral.
He was such a giver. He made a huge difference in my life and I know that he made a difference in the lives of many. May we all strive to be a bit like Father Jim Swearingen.
No comments:
Post a Comment