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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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Through The Silence He
couldn’t speak……yet he said so much! His
name was Linwood Steiner.
He passed away on May 1, 2006, at his home in
Theodore, AL, surrounded by his loved ones. The words
he said to his family before he died are some words
that you and I need to hear. But he couldn’t speak. Linwood
suffered from Lou Gherig’s disease (ALS - Amyotropic
Lateral Sclerosis).
Due to this disease, in just a few short years
Linwood lost most all of the muscular function in his
body. When
he experienced tremendous difficulty in breathing, he
elected to be put on a ventilator – which kept him
alive for 20 more months, but deprived him of the
ability to speak..... yet he said so much! For Linwood, to communicate was a challenge.
Although he was unable to talk, he would
“speak” with his eyes.
He could answer “yes” and “no”
questions: blinking his eyes meant “yes.”
Rolling his eyes back meant “no.” As the end of his life drew near with his
loved ones by his side, there were some things that
Linwood wanted to say to them.
The family had to go through letters of the
alphabet with him using a hand held chart in order to
spell out the words, but the messages were clear,
powerful, and unforgettable.
His family watched carefully and listened for
every letter of every word. “Take
care of each other”
was spelled out.
Then Linwood looked all around the room
indicating that he wanted all of his loved ones to
continue to care for one another after he was gone. Then letter by letter, the words
“Give your lives to Christ” were
spelled out.
As difficult as it was for him to communicate,
this was a message that Linwood wanted to be sure to
give to his loved ones before his departure from this
life.
He understood that giving one’s life to
Christ was the key to living eternally with God in
heaven - for him and for his loved ones (John 14:6).
He knew that only those with a relationship
with God through His Son Jesus Christ can look forward
to being reunited together with the Lord when He
returns (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Won’t YOU give your life to Christ as
Linwood did?
Place your faith in Jesus believing that He died on the cross
for your sins (Acts 16:30-31), turn from your sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins (Acts 2:38).
Then live for Him, to the best of your ability,
for the rest of your life (Revelation 2:10). He couldn’t speak…..yet he said so
much! God bless you! David A. Sargent, Minister Church of Christ at Creekwood To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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