Scripture of the Day - Paul (II Cor. 5-6-9)

Todd Perry with my sister-by-another-mother Jannine Dow (both of Atascadero High School Class of 1989) who herself received a liver transplant last year and who organized Todd's fundraiser earlier this summer to which I attended. Photo taken recently by unknown.

Just over 24 hours ago somebody I have known since junior high school through high school before we lost contact after high school until Facebook came along in the second half of the 2000s, died of his pancreas not doing its job. Todd Perry died last night in Atascadero after fighting Type I Diabetes for 35 of his last 45 years. Todd was in the Atascadero High School Class of 1989 along with me. Although we were always on friendly terms we ran in different social circles and alas, Todd, I hardly knew ye.

Having not been in direct contact with Todd since no later than my senior year of high school in 1989, I  reunited with Todd earlier this summer at an impromptu fundraiser to support his financial needs as he continued to fight his illness. He told me the long tale of his many struggles and hurdles often coming close to a transplant before some complication kept it from happening. By the end, he was up to six days a week going in for dialysis treatments. Five days ago he announced he was discontinuing dialysis after the latest setback. He told us he had about a week and a half to live or less. He died five days later.  The image above perfectly captures his recent mood and spiritual state of peace and confidence. He knew and knows the Lord. He is okay now.

Tonight I found myself thinking about the below passage of scripture in the context of Todd and not Todd only, but also my late father, James Gordon Noyes, who died in a freak electrical accident my freshman year of high school. Mom would read the very same passage of scripture to us to comfort us and place dad's death in proper context.

"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in our physical body, we are temporarily separated from our Creator. (For we walk by faith, not by sight.) We are assured and I argue quite willing rather to be absent from the physical body, and to be present with our Creator. Wherefore we strive, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of the Creator."

~ II Corinthians 5:6-9 (Kimicus ad Absurdan translation)