The Passing
You probably are familiar with the term, “The passing of the mantle”. The term originates in I Kings when Elijah passes his mantle to Elisha. This “mantle” was a cloak with powerful symbolic meaning. With the passing of the mantle, Elijah was passing his prophetic authority and mission to Elisha before he was to be taken to Heaven.
We here at Orphan’s Lifeline are now experiencing a sort of mantle passing as we move into yet another difficult season in our staff family. It is with much sadness that we lost Greg Timmons to cancer on September 5... our beloved leader, CEO, husband, brother, father, son and friend. We are in mourning, but we know that Greg is now healed, healthy, happy and at peace in the presence of Jesus.
Although Greg is physically gone in this present world, his influence, his ideas, his profound decisions, inspiration and love live on with us.
Greg’s heart, spirit, sacrifice and impact on thousands of children’s lives remain and will continue to grow for generations to come.
I am forever grateful for his advice, understanding and support in some very difficult times in my life. And I will always smile and laugh as I think of all of the abstract humor that we often bounced off of one other... and so many Star Wars references.
Please do pray for peace and comfort, especially for Greg’s family, and also for those of us that called him leader and friend.
The passing of a family member, a respected leader and friend... and the passing of the mantle is upon us. I am humbly honored to be chosen by Greg to carry on the responsibility of writing to you each month. Others on staff have been chosen for other tasks... a passing of the mantle that none of us take lightly.
Ever since I was a young boy back in North Carolina, I have loved snakes. I loved to read books on them. I loved to chase, catch, watch... and sometimes run from them. For it is best to know the friendly from the mean and venomous. In recent years I have been reminded that my love of this mysterious creature often does not reflect in others, especially here in the office. I am surely not permitted to put up snake posters or photos on the walls as several others experience adverse effects. But I digress.
For the past two days on my lunch break, I have driven down the street to a small pond in order to walk, to think and to pray as I meditate on our loss and our staff here at Orphan’s Lifeline. And both days I have had snake encounters... nice little 28” garter snakes... nothing to fear. Today, the snake was slowly slithering across the path just a few feet in front of me. I stopped to greet and watch him. And then I remembered the snake that I saw yesterday. I heard him plop down into the water out of the high grass on the bank. I then watched him swim, or rather slither, through the water all the way across the pond to the other side.
After seeing the snake today, I was struck by how their movement is almost, if not exactly the same when they travel across hard ground as when they cross water... a completely different surface. And then I couldn’t help but to liken that movement to us here at Orphan’s Lifeline... and to all of our donors. No matter what we go through... trials, losses, pain, frustration, stress, tiredness, despondency... and good days, we keep on moving forward. We do what we know to do. We join together, support one another, love one another... and we still make it happen... For The Children.
Passing through the waters… passing through the grass… passing through the weeds, the thicket and briars. Whatever we pass through, we will keep on moving.
We will keep on giving of ourselves and doing all that we possibly can to continue raising funds that will keep saving discarded, abused and suffering children. We will keep giving them a home, giving them healthy food, proper medicine, a comfortable bed, a loving and caring staff to nurture them. We will continue giving them an education that will keep them out of the slums, off the streets and provide them opportunity to thrive and positively impact their community around them. We will keep on doing what we do, inspired by Dave Board, inspired by Greg Timmons... set in motion and sustained by our Creator and Lord. We will stand together strong, passing through what we must to carry on God’s mission to save and serve the orphans and widows.
Thank you for standing with us, our treasured donors. For without you, none of this would have been possible for the last 25 years. With you, we will pass through and keep on reflecting Jesus to the forgotten for years to come.
““When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.”
”
In Loving Memory