LEIGHTON FORD--Leighton Ford is a minister and a brother-in-law to Billy Graham. Leighton’s son Sandy died an untimely death. Leighton wrote a book about his son. The following is taken from that publication.
"When Sandy was alive, he sometimes made his friends a little uncomfortable by being slightly apart, separate, present to the moment but not totally committed to this world, as if his eyes and mind were set on things above. Now that he is gone, his absence reminds us frequently of heaven, helping us to recover the old notion that our lives are brief, and lived continually under the eye of eternity and in the grace of God.
"During the months following Sandy’s death, to cope with my grief and sense of loss, I kept a journal. Through a series of ’conversations’ with Sandy, I continued to express my grief and bring our relationship to a close.
"In one of those chats, I said, ’Sandy, you’ve been dead two months earth time.’ "’I feel as if I have been alive forever, Dad. It’s a lot like one big long today.’
"’It’s not a matter of time, Sandy, except that time heals. It’s more a matter of nearness. I guess I’m concerned that as our time goes on, we will lose any sense of nearness.’
"’But why, Dad? You’re moving closer to eternity every day. You’re no longer moving from, but to me And besides, the "Wall" between is so thin--you would laugh
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