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What I learned from Gerald Belue
Our brother in the Lord passed away on Friday, October 22nd. It was the 89th year of his life. I baptized Gerald 6 years ago at the age of 83. He began attending faithfully, driving his truck from Rogersville. As years went on and his health began to get worse, he would come and bring his walker with him. He would struggle to get in and out of the building but he kept coming. When his health got so bad and he had to use a wheelchair at home, he was unable to come to our worship assemblies.
He enjoyed our weekly visits so much. He would tell me and retell me of his time in the Airforce. When he joined, he weighed 110 pounds and he weighed 150 pounds when he got out. He said he ate steak and potatoes and yeast rolls for the first time there and he never forgot it. When he got out of the service and came back to Rogersville, his mother would feed him with all they
had, beans and cornbread. He then began to learn his trade which carried him through the rest of his life, being a welder. These visits helped me and encouraged me as much as they did him.
Let me share with you a few things that I learned from Gerals.
- Don’t complain. He never complained about his situation in life. Whether it was his health, his ability to eat, whatever it might be, he never complained. He is the only person I ever met who thought hospital food was as good as it gets. His last meal we had together in the hospital was country fried steak and mashed potatoes. He loved every bite. Gerald knew what Philippians 2:14 means.
- Love your family. He had one son and one daughter, two grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He would talk about them over and over again. He loved them even though at times he didn’t see them as often as he would have liked.
- Work hard at whatever job you have. He worked hard in the Airforce, months in the snow in Germany. He worked hard as a welder at Redstone Arsenal. He helped to build Chicago’s O’hara Airport. Gerald knew what Ecclesiastes 9:10 meant.
- He loved his brethren here at Brookhill. He didn’t remember names so well but he knew who sat to his right or left and was young or old. He always asked me about my Hannah and her diabetes because he was diabetic also. He always wanted to know who had sent him a card. He knew what Thessalonians 4:9 means.
By the world’s standards, he died a lonely death. He had no mate, only a few children in the area and was housebound but he is not alone anymore. He is in the presence of God himself and his angels and all the righteous that have gone on before him. Gerald may not have laid up treasures on Earth but he surely did lay up treasures in Heaven, Colossians 3:2.
Thank you Gerald for touching my life and many others. We are all better because of you. See you later.
