First I just want to give God thanks for all the things he has done. Second I ask that he would bless my tongue so that I might say the things to penetrate the hardened parts of us & speak power into vulnerable points to healing within the invisible broken areas. Most of all allow my voice to lift up your name.<\/p>\n
Ya’ll please bear with me. You’ll have to excuse me if this takes a little bit but this is my last time\u00a0 with him for a while so I wanted to make this moment count. It’s one of many to last a lifetime.<\/p>\n
I can offer you a million words but none of them can fill the gap for the deep void & vacancy left hollowed in his absence.<\/p>\n
Are you awake yet? Cause I know somebody who is… He went to sleep last Friday night & by Saturday woke up in a different place. I can guarantee he went in peace out of the chaos & drifted off in a different realm between time & space & was greeted by Uncle Louis smiling face. In the distance was Grandpa Louis & Grandma Lorraine waiting with an open embrace. They took his hand accompanied by the angels & led him up all the way to heavens gates. He stepped into the light then entered the kingdom of paradise in the presence of God & witnessed by all the saints. He finished his race by the Lords good grace & earned his crown received by faith. halo shining on his head he did a little dance, the confetti dropped, the trumpet played & they all commenced to celebrate.<\/p>\n
That vessel of a body has perished but his spirit & it’s consciousness it moved on. It both dwells in the heavens, it lives on in the memories through the minds of those that knew him & through the hearts of those who loved him.<\/p>\n
I’ve learned over the years that we really only have a limited number of people who will make us feel special. The ones that remind us of our value to this sometimes callous world by their warm acts of compassion & words of encouragement, when we can’t see our own worth. He most certainly was one of those people.<\/p>\n
I can remember being one of his favorites when I was born as I was one of his 1st great nephews to be around. He held me when I was a little one. 22 is what they loved to call me. He used to tease with my dad. He’d have my Pop call for me, all the while snickering & clenching me tight, & my dad would call me to him but my confused infant self couldn’t understand what was going on so I’d run back to Uncle Tommy then he’d laugh I might have even cackled myself because his laughter… It was just contagious like that.<\/p>\n
I wasn’t his 1st great nephew or his last but I was blessed with the opportunity to have been raised around him a bit. I can remember back to the days of Ledford St. Sometimes I even wish we could go to the days back then. It was a time where the world seemed more simple.<\/p>\n
I can still recall the evening summer sunsets. We used to sit on the front porch with Grandma Lorraine & Grandpa Louis as Mr. Stover would ride slowly across his yard on his mower. The sun would go down while the symphony of seasonal insects played & the moon would bring bring out Sniffy or call him in. He’d be in his Chef jacket probably between shifts. I can recollect passing each other occasionally through the corridor of that hallway & regularly meeting in the kitchen or on that porch. I would be there with my toys playing while the family gathered. Under Great Grandma & Great Grandpas watchful eyewhile I was never alone. It seemed like Grandma Louise & uncle Tommy were inseparable like twins then. Brother & sister, a bond through thick & thin as well as best friends. Don’t let me forget to mention, visits from aunt Margaret, summer stays with aunt Edna & spending time with uncle Emmitt. In the early years If I wasn’t in Loodies hair or arms I was in Sniffys hands. Looking back I’m grateful to have received all that love from everyone. I understand now how abundant unconditional love really was.<\/p>\n
This past week as I reflected in my own thoughts of Uncle Tommy. Being single & unmarried, it resonated in me as I cooked on my job, that our paths have their similarities. Although I doubt I will ever be the chef that he was I come from the bloodline. My grandma Louise occasionally will tell me that I remind her of him but as strange as it may seem I found myself able to embody who he was & understand him just a little more.<\/p>\n
Let me tell you certain occupations require unique individuals. The service industry is one of them trust me. It takes people with the a lot of patience, a tolerance for stress, a humble spirit, a calm in chaos & a passion for what you do to fill them. Without a strong desire to learn & an unrelenting will to advance you cannot be successful. It is an industry that will make or break you I promise & he managed to thrive in it for over 30+ years. There he met & made many kinds of freinds from all walks of life & different backgrounds. That character speaks for itself. He could serve you up a plate overflowing with love that would not only satisfy your stomach but also captivate your heart. I personally know his cinnamon & dinner rolls are enough alone to as my little brother says “make your nose do jumping jacks.” If he didn’t catch you with food then he got you from his fun loving candid attitude. I can assure you my uncle Tommy was reserved yet fearless. He was a master at his craft & a perfectionist. He was young at heart & ambitious. He is someone who will always remain in a special & dear place in all our hearts. One filled with fun & food, laughter & love.<\/p>\n
The last time I had a chance to see him was at a tragic time itself so it was uplifting yet bitter sweet visiting with him & my other elders.\u00a0 I worried about them then, knowing that they were just getting older & that nobody is meant to be here forever. We are all only here for so long & our elders even less. They are the last link to the generation of our forefathers & mothers who paved the way for us to be here right now!<\/p>\n
Where are you at today? Indeed it is a blessing to be here but we all know that we’re just trying to make the best of it while we’re here in this state of temporary being until we venture on off to the other side. You did hear me right? I said temporary & I reiterate it because it’s important that not only times like this that we remember that.<\/p>\n
Lord knows we had every intention of seeing him & the rest of our elders before anyone else’s time to pass on. I wondered to myself in the birth of a new year what life would hold. Who would still be here? Understanding so I knew there would be troubling times to come but one can never imagine what life will contain in even the next second.<\/p>\n
It has been an honor speaking on behalf of my people but I don’t like it to keep having to be up here like this. To keep meeting here. You know when you have to be here. When there’s a death & a funeral. We have to find a way to come closer together. Great Grandma Lorraine had a saying that has stuck with me & that was “give a person their flowers while they’re alive.” I can tell you whatever flowers uncle Tommy didn’t get he’s got them now. The question is who are you giving your flowers to or are you even giving any flowers at all?<\/p>\n
This life is but a mist that appears for a while & then vanishes & it’s tragic when our loved ones seem to go home too soon but God calls his angels, servants & soldiers home as it was written to be. With the personality & spirit that he had it’s easy to see why God would be ready to have him back. I don’t believe it’s just by coincidence or chance that we were brought here. God brought us here together today & not without reason. We are here to remember our loved one but we’re also here because it has been long overdue connecting with each other.<\/p>\n
Although this is a ceremony all about him I think the message was clearly to bring our attention to focus on a generation that deserves to be…. Cherished honored & embraced with the utmost respect, gratitude & compassion. Aunt Margaret, Grandma Louis, Aunt Edna & Uncle Emmitt, are the last of what we have. We should love them & each other as much as we can while we can. I pray the Lords love, strength & comfort over them.<\/p>\n
Like an intense storm as we mourn that seems as if when it rains it pours. It is a grief & anguish we can’t ignore but we shall prosper while we endure. The dark clouds may form & the showers may be necessary to mature but they never stop the sun from shining again\u00a0 that’s for sure…<\/p>\n
Until we see each other again. God bless, take care of yourselves & each other… On behalf of the Talton family I want to thank everyone for all their love & support.<\/p>\n
Proverbs 15:17<\/p>\n
Better a small serving of vegetables with love<\/span> Jeremiah 1:5<\/p>\n Before I formed you in the womb I knew\u00a0you,<\/span> First I just want to give God thanks for all the things he has done. Second I ask that he would bless my tongue so that I might say the things to penetrate the hardened parts of us & speak power into vulnerable points to healing within the invisible broken areas. Most of all allow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=986"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":992,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions\/992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.love-compassion.com\/rTalton\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>than a fattened calf with hatred.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>before you were born I set you apart;<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"