Remembering OUR DAD  

Our father was born in 1927 in Tillicoultry, Scotland, which is in the lowlands region. Only his mother was there when he was born, because his father had already immigrated out to Ohio in the USA; as was the custom back then, he had to get settled and established and then bring out his wife and child. So, after our father was born, our dad and his mother immigrated to Steubenville, Ohio and while there, two more children were born. A few years later, however, probably due to being homesick, they moved back to Scotland.

 

At the age of nine, our dad was given a new pair of football boots – or soccer shoes in Canadian English. What do you do when you get new football boots?  You go straight down to the park to play! Being one of the younger children, he was put in the net. While playing as goalkeeper, a cyclist came through and bumped into him as he cycled through the field. Our dad fell and then tried to stand; unknowingly, having a compound fracture, the bone came through the skin. He was then brought home on a used, dirty door from someone’s garden and laid on the kitchen table for a while. Eventually, he was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, gangrene had set in and, as penicillin was only in trials at the time, the choice was his life or his leg. Shortly after amputation, he heard men in the same room whispering that the little boy had just lost his leg. Gingerly, he reached his hand down to see if his leg was there and found that it wasn’t!!!!! That was the start of his journey as an amputee, and he really rose to the occasion. Awhile later, he learned to ride a bicycle and found that he could do this on a fairly equal footing with others. In his teen years, he would ride a 3 gear bicycle so loaded with supplies one could barely lift the back wheel off the ground. This way he rode for many, many miles up and down the hills and mountains of the Scottish highlands, for many days at a time. He also went on to golf and play soccer with his friends and then once his son, Andrew, came along, he taught him how to play soccer. Andrew particularly remembers Dad teaching him to shoot half volley shots – which takes good balance and, of course, Dad would be fully balancing on his artificial leg!

 

We share all of that, as it shows the tenacity that he had throughout his life and, in particular, in his last weeks. But we can’t go on about our dad, because he was adamant that we do not centre attention on him and how wonderful or amazing he was. We are only to share all this if you come away thinking about how amazing God is!!!

 

Our father was raised in a loving home. At the age of 19, my dad’s drive and tenacity were channeled into becoming Scotland’s top drummer. As well as shaking ketchup bottles vigorously as an exercise to loosen his wrists, (sometimes making a mess on the walls!), and practicing his drum sticks at the kitchen table, he would attend many concerts and purposely sit as close as he could to the drummer,  watching and analyzing his every move.  We can’t speak for his talent, as we never heard him play the drums, but he probably had the drive to reach his goal. However, God had other plans for him! In 1946, there were revival meetings happening in his hometown. As it was popular for the general public to attend such meetings, he and his father did so. Dad was gripped by the message, and those who saw their need of a Saviour were invited to remain in their seats to talk to someone about salvation. He was really convicted of his sin and need of a Saviour yet didn’t want to come across as a fool in front of his dad and others. Yet, the Lord moved him to stay in his seat and, later that day, our father confessed his sinfulness and asked the Lord to save him.  The next day, someone said to his sister that he had become a Christian, and she said that was impossible!!! Our dad had been the betting coordinator at his work, swore like a trooper, and was obsessed with drumming. But, his life had changed, and when his buddy came to the house to tell him their band’s next bookings, our dad told him that he was quitting his drumming, as he had a new passion. His new passion was sharing the message of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. A friend of his told us recently that, shortly after my dad was saved, he wanted to go round every house in their local area of Falkirk and leave a pamphlet explaining God’s good news. The two of them did this together.  

 

In the fifties, our father felt an unmistakable call to Christian ministry, and also in that decade, he met our mother at a Christian Endeavour holiday home in Northern Ireland. Our mother was interested in motor scooters, and our dad had one. That started a friendship which eventually led to a 58-year marriage and children born in three countries – Northern Ireland, Scotland and Canada. Dad always said, with a twinkle in his eye, that “we’ve been scooting around together ever since”!

 

In 1964, our father was called to a church pastorate in New Brunswick. Here, they first experienced the heat of a Canadian summer and, when they remarked on the heat, they were told, ‘Just wait till the winter’! That first winter, our dad was rescued on multiple occasions from the ditch, and on a windy day, he had to climb a ladder and install heavy storm windows – all on one leg! Regardless, our dad loved Canada – the openness and warmth of the maritime people and the wide open spaces and freedom this brought.

 

Our dad spent the years 1964-1992 in church pastoral work, with a particular affinity to both his first and last churches. He spoke at a number of conferences, including the inaugural Atlantic Reformed Fellowship and a couple of Reformed Baptist conferences in the USA. His passion in ministry was sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ and teaching God’s people God’s Word. While in Cape Breton, his messages were broadcast on the radio and during many, many supper meals he or Mum would share about someone they met that day in Sydney who listened regularly to the messages on the radio.

 

About 7 years ago, and by this time in retirement, God put on his heart the following verses from Philippians 4: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He realized WHY a few months later, when he needed a heart bypass in Halifax. One or two days before his surgery, he drove by himself 400kms from Cape Breton to the Halifax hospital, listening to Christian hymns along the way and was completely at peace. This verse continued to be a theme verse for him throughout the coming years. For instance, in 2014-15, while he had a broken bone and damaged ligaments in his one and only foot – these verses were a great comfort to him. Then in 2016, when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and through its resurgence during his last 4 months, these verses continued to be a comfort to him. In the last ten days of his life, his grandson, Alister, would read these verses to him each day. Throughout all these instances, this promise was granted to him, as he was very much at peace during these struggles and right up to his last breath.

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In the last few days of his life, it was hard and painful for him to talk. He had a terribly sore mouth as a result of his cancer, one of the worst his daughter-in-law has seen in her cancer nursing. Our dad, however, desperately wanted to get words out for us all. It took him a while to get these words out, and he had his son write them down to ensure we got them accurate. He wanted all of his grandchildren to know this BUT MORE than that he wanted EVERYONE to hear this, and so we will end with his last words to you all. “I want everyone to understand that Jesus died for them. He understood them and died for them. THANK God that whoever trusts in him can have salvation, It is not for us but for the glory of God." Then he also added, “Thank God that I am going to be with the Lord.”

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  Remembering OUR MUM

 We thank the Lord with all our heart for giving us the mother that He so graciously chose to give us.  Not only because she was kind, generous, selfless, a great friend to many – and she WAS all those things – but because she was a Christian mother, teaching us by her words and by her life and example, what it means to be a Christian.

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We grew up knowing that Mum did not want, after she was gone, to be praised but wanted the glory given to God instead.  After all, she was simply a sinner who had been saved by His mercy and grace. 

 

Mum grew up in the south of Ireland in a very loving family.  At church, and in the church-run school she attended, Mum memorized many passages and chapters of the Bible as well as many hymns; this was of great benefit to her all her life - and even in her last days, she loved singing many hymns stored in her memory.  She also had a treasure-trove of poems and quaint sayings, Irish and Scottish songs, old-time songs, and these she recalled right up until her very last day. 

When Mum moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to study Nursing, she was challenged to place her complete trust in Christ alone to save her soul and to henceforth live to please Him.  She realized that her good works and moral, upright life was not what God required for getting into Heaven.  This was the great turning point in Mum’s life, and it is because of her personal relationship with the Lord that we can say with absolute confidence that her soul is in His presence at this very moment, praising Him, and she will continue to rejoice forevermore.

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Mum said on more than one occasion that when she was gone, we were not to grieve for her, as she has simply gone on before us.  How Mum looked forward to Heaven!  In the past number of years, especially when Mum and Dad still lived in Sydney, Nova Scotia she often would quote the verse from I Corinthians 2:9 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

 

We are so thankful for the many ways Mum inspired us.  She had the gift of hospitality and spent time nurturing her wealth of friendships that spanned many decades.  Many an evening was spent phoning a friend, and she used the phone and letter-writing to encourage many.  Her wonderful sense of humour and her laughter were infectious, and she delighted many with stories from growing up in Ireland or her nursing days.  She saw the funny side of life!

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Mum was a very faithful, supportive, and much-loved pastor’s wife.  One of the great legacies Mum has left her children and grandchildren is that she always uncompromisingly stood for the truth, yet always demonstrated a gracious and loving spirit toward others.  Grandchildren express their deep appreciation for this.

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Our Mum passed away in January 2017 and on that night she thanked her daughter for the many ways she helped her. When her daughter told her that it was a privilege and a pleasure and that she was the best mother we could have possibly had, she humbly sounded surprised to hear that!  A while later, she fed supper to Mum, as had been done for those last 3 months.  Prior to eating, Mum prayed aloud, thanking God for the food and His many blessings to us.  Little did we know that the Lord would call her home to Himself within the next few hours.   

 

She is greatly missed by all her children and grandchildren, yet in the midst of our sadness, there is great comfort in the assurance that, though Mum’s earthly life has ended, she is right now experiencing joy unspeakable.

 

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9

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