Life Stories

The following is taken with permission from the funeral of Dennis Strong and speaks so clearly of what sharing in God's life is all about:

Dennis' message for you

The service for Dennis Strong is a celebration of his life and faith. He asked me to present you with a written copy of his message for you to keep, reflect upon and treasure. They are his parting thoughts that he would express himself, if he were with us today.
My message is an expression of my journey with God. I was baptised at Narraweena Methodist Church when I was young. I participated in Sunday School and on reflection I knew, even then, that God's hand was upon us. God's hand never leaves us and He loves us and continues to draw us to Him throughout our lives.
Even with my childhood learning and experience, I didn't search for our Lord until the early 90s. I had been working in a timber yard because the recession had made finding work as a builder difficult. My brother, Glenn was working for Gary at Alloy Railings, which was a business but primarily a Christian Outreach, and a position became available to work there. I was looking at money and work and asked the question "is this as good as it gets ­ there must be more to life". As the business grew, the others in the business, including Glenn would speak with me about Christianity, but the pivotal moment in which I became a Christian was when the new accountant, Rod Or, helped me to find Christ. We prayed at a work bench together, I gave myself to our Lord and asked to have an eternal relationship with God. He enabled me to see that the more I was looking for, was a life in Christ.

My church, Pittwater Uniting Church (PUC), regularly participates in a Christian discovery weekend called the Emmaus walk. I participated in this activity about 6 or 7 years ago. Although I was Christian, this event was particularly powerful in my journey ­ at the closing event I was enveloped by love. That same love has been wholeheartedly felt following this time, and particularly more recently with my time at Pittwater Uniting ­ I know and felt that I was surrounded and enveloped by love through God's people. I have come to learn how God's people are so warm and encouraging at Pittwater Uniting but I was only experiencing it once a week at Sunday Service.

I have always been blessed by the relationship that Robyn and I have developed over our lives together ­ to love her and to feel her love in return. She has always been a blessing but I feel that I have been more attuned to her love in more recent times. Especially in these last days and weeks and months, I would physically feel the flooding of her love as she passes by. I know that both of us have blossomed over these months with and because of God's love. The close relationships in our lives are a further expression of God's love. I have continually found love expressed through my girls, extended family and my friends. I know that people are placed into our lives for a purpose and I have been blessed by all of those family and friends that have entered my life.

Whilst I was a Christian before I knew about my diagnosis, the Motor Neuron Disease (MND) has caused me to totally depend on God. My dependence on God for strength, calm, peace and understanding has continued to grow each day and I became an 'every day' Christian rather than a Sunday attender. Whilst my illness could have caused me to face away from God, I chose to loose my self-sufficiency and become dependent on God's love experienced through His church and family.

I've come to appreciate God's foreknowledge. He knows what will happen in our lives before it happens and he knows how to prepare us for that path. It has brought me great comfort that he was preparing me for MND long before I had it and that He walks with us every step of the way. We have the freedom of knowing the joy of His walk with us and we all have the option of being closer to God. The MND has always been a blessing. Few people are blessed to know that their life's journey is coming to an end. Knowing this affords me the opportunity to have all the conversations that often are delayed until "later". I've had many blessings whilst on this journey but importantly, the blessing of being able to feel God's presence on the journey has been pivotal because I have been able to accept the disease and my journey with it.

I have learned that love is eternal. In the scripture, the bible talks about how God loved us even before we were born. Even though I won't be with you physically today or tomorrow, that does not stop me still loving you because of that truth ­ that love is eternal. My love extends to all of you ­ my family, my friends and some that still yet to be born. Over life we come to learn truths and come to conclusions. These are the things that we come to rely on when things are easy and difficult. In my walk with God, it is as if I've been steered by God and this is the place where I've wanted to be ­ with knowing God's love and presence ­ when I'm down about my path, I just ask and the Holy Spirit comes and warms my heart. Since my diagnosis my prayer has been "God sustain me". This has provided me with the feeling of the security of knowing God holding us. God never gives us a challenge that we can't handle. There are many passages of the Bible that have sustained me, helped me to understand God's plan and come to know the Lord. Psalm 139 has been particularly special to me for many years but especially these last months. Some key words that resonated for me are "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You created my inmost being. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." As my health has deteriorated, the Lord seems to have kept bring me back to some passages from John 6:66 ­ 68 which I truly love. These passages are the ones that Ric blessed me with and we shared communion and I was anointed with oil. To me, these verses say it all.

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."
As we shared communion on Monday (we also did at Christmas time in 2009) and as I was anointed, I prayed that this was a reaffirmation of my faith and so Jesus will recognise me when I get up there. I know that when I die, I will be totally enveloped in God's eternal love and whilst we experience this to a lesser extent in life, I will experience in full once I leave this earth. Dennis' last words to me on Monday were. "I did not pray for healing but for Jesus to walk with me and us all the way. That prayer was answered totally. My witness is not so much how I lived by but the grace of God how I died."

He took off his mask to give me a kiss and we said "see you later".

Our friend Dennis is not physically with us but we know his love for us is still a special part of our lives, as is his love of God.
We never say goodbye, but see you later ­ that is the central truth of Christianity ­ God the father's love through Jesus the Son and the warming presence of the Holy Spirit sustain us until it is time for us to go to our eternal home ­ that happened for Dennis on Wednesday.

Ric Bollen