We received the devastating news on January 1st that Ronnie passed from this temporary life on earth to eternal life in heaven with his Savior, Jesus Christ. To be clear, it is devastating for those of us still here; not for him.

I’ve written a little about his story here and here. His life motto was: Never Give Up, Failure is Not an Option, Refuse to Lose. He didn’t just believe those words, he lived them throughout tremendous trials. He had every reason to give up and to accept failure and loss, but he did not. Despite every earthly treasure being taken away from him, he never complained or felt sorry for himself. I’m pretty sure it’s because he understood this passage from the Bible more than many people:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We gathered earlier this month to celebrate Ronnie’s life, and even more so, celebrate the God who saved Ronnie from his sin and welcomed him into His presence once and for all. What a gracious, loving, powerful God! So it is goodbye for now, Ronnie. I’ll see you soon enough when we are worshiping together at our Savior’s feet.