Do Not Be Afraid

I told him that I loved him. I distinctly remember that. I told him that we would all be waiting there when he was ready to wake up. But that was not in God's plan for Eddie's life. We will never know why it wasn't, and in all honesty it was never up to us. I remember hugging Eddie that morning right before the service was over. He had told me earlier how scared he was. I told him I loved him and told him I would pray for him.
He told me he loved me. "Thank you for that book," he said with a smile, "And the coin. I love you, I really mean that. And I value your friendship."

There was something much more important that I didn't get to share with Eddie that day. A small passage from my Bible, somewhat of a "reflection" that I just decided to post here. This has been weighing on my heart all week, and I don't know why I didn't get the opportunity to tell him about this.

...Jesus wants you to know that you can trust him as the Great Shepherd. In Psalm 23, David paints a beautiful picture of God making us lie down in green pastures. Without total trust in the shepherd, the sheep will not lie down in the pasture for fear of being attacked. Jesus is your Shepherd, and you are his sheep. He loves you and wants to see you lie down in green pastures of his love.
The Lord's promise is that no matter where you are today, he is walking with you. Tonight you will lie down, and fear will not overtake you. You will not be a slave to anyone or anything because you are precious in his sight because of his love for you. That is a promise that only he can fulfill in your life.

Somewhere in that great, beautiful kingdom of Heaven I can literally picture Eddie. I can picture him free of those knee braces and all that pain he used to suffer with because of his knee problems. I can see him kicked back in a beautiful green field of grass somewhere, held titled up and basking in the warm sun. I know somewhere deep within me that he is in a better place. My heart is beginning to understand that too. I used to joke with Eddie during church services that I had already hugged him once, I wasn't hugging him again - only to go back on what I'd said. And what I wouldn't give to have one of those hugs right about now.
I have a feeling Eddie Harris is at home with his Heavenly Father, already passing out hugs and telling everybody how much he loves them.