Grieving With Our Brother
We are grieving with Bro. Ray Jacques (pronounced “Jacks”) tonight as his wife went to be with the Lord this week. Bro. Rench was able to be with the family as they prayed, read the Scriptures, and grieved the loss of wife and mom. I talked with Bro. Ray on Monday and my heart broke for him. After being married for 66 years, it feels like a part of him has been ripped away.
We’ve been praying for Cathy for the past couple of weeks. She recently fell and has been in excruciating pain, and Bro. Jacques has been ministering with a heart full of concern for his poor wife, yet he has remained faithful. You might not have even realized how distraught he has been in his soul for the past two Sundays. I guess we never fully realize what people are going through when we pass by them in the aisles or see them serving with joy.
That’s the joy of the Lord. That’s the strength of the Lord.
Bro. Ray has several kids (six, I believe), and I hope we as a church can minister well to him and his family through this time. I’m not altogether sure what that means, but please pray, at least. There’s a memorial service here at the church on Monday at 1pm, and we’ll spread as many other details as we can by email.
Being a part of a church body means we feel for every member, whether seen or unseen, popular or behind-the-scenes. 1 Cor. 12:26 “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.”
I love Bro. Ray deeply, and I would love for him to feel a supernatural comfort from the Lord through us. –Pastor Ryan