Heaven's New Arrival

My heart is very sad. One of the world's greatest Christians has passed away. Aubrey Edwards will forever hold a special place in my heart.

The first time I met Aubrey was when the church I was attending brought him in as the interim minister of music. Our choir had been through some heartbreaking struggles, and Aubrey entered our lives with a sense of renewal. It didn't take long before I fell in love with him and his wife, Phyllis. They became like a second set of parents to me. I spent many times sitting in their living room, chatting about life. Not once did I ever hear a complaint, an unkind word, or gossip from them.

Aubrey encouraged my passion of singing. I can't tell you how many times I would tell him I had a new song ready to sing, and he would immediately set a date for me to sing. When we ended up at separate churches, he would always ask me if I was singing in the choir. At one point, I wasn't singing, and had to answer him with a "no." He told me, "You need to be using that voice." Anytime he introduced me to someone, he followed it with, "She has a beautiful voice. You should hear her sing." God used him to encourage me to sing His praises. I know God used him to do the same for countless numbers of people.

Last year I had the opportunity to sit with him a couple of times when he was having his dialysis treatment. The first time I sat with him, he was in a substantial amount of pain. He would motion and whisper for me to help him get comfortable. He didn't complain...not even once...about his pain. The second time I sat with him, he wasn't in as much pain, and chatted with me a lot that day. I saw how he spoke to everyone in the dialysis room. When someone would ask how he was doing, his response was always that he was doing good and that he couldn't complain.

I had the privilege of hearing countless stories about his life and minsitry. I'm not sure we'll ever know how many lives he touched on this earth...I would dare say thousands upon thousands. He was truly the most loving human being I've ever known. And I think anybody that knew him would agree.

I will forever think of him when I hear Sweet Little Jesus Boy...he sang it beautifully. I will forever think of him when I read Ephesians 5:19:

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord

I am sad that I didn't take more time to spend with him. But I look forward to the day I will see him again...singing with the hosts in heaven in his new, perfect body! Our world has lost a sweet, precious man. But I can imagine him singing God's praises in heaven even now.

Please pray for his lovely bride, Phyllis, and his daughters, Sondra, Kim and Leisha.