Uncle Tommy

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose.-Romans 8:28

    As I write this my Uncle Tom Matthews is in the Critical Care Unit in Washington hospital. He’s been in there for two weeks. He went to the hospital for a bed sore but it turn into problems with his heart and lungs. Since the weekend he’s been under sedation and on a ventilator. I wanted to take this time on my blog to write about how much Tommy means to me. I was born in 1981 with cerebral palsy. The same year Tommy was paralyzed from an car accident. I learned from Tommy to never let my disability stop me from living life. Since I was a child we have had many heart to heart conversations about life that I’ll never forget. Tommy has encouraged me and at times flat out ticked me off about how to live life with a disability and I praise God for putting him in my life. The greatest gift Tommy gave me was  Jesus Christ. Tommy is not a perfect man. He has faults but he keeps going back to God for strength and hope. It was him that always kept dragging me to church as a teen. I thought church was boring but I got to hang out with him so I went. I was far from God but would listen to Tommy’s Kirk Franklin cds and even “stole” a few to listen whenever i was down. When I was 19 I went to church with Tommy and for the first time heard the message of Jesus. I came to faith because God kept using Tommy to reach me. But it wasn’t till my early twenties that I got serious about my faith, and again it was Tommy who got me to start going to church and Bible Study. I loved his NIV Study Bible and we would talk about Scripture. I would take his bible to my bedroom and read it all night long. Finally, one year for my birthday he bought me my own NIV study bible. He teased me and said he did it to get his bible back. I have used this Bible for over the last 5 years and its the greatest gift I ever received. I study from it, teach from it, and preach from it. I now own almost 25 bibles but I never stop using the bible Tommy gave me. Tommy is a example of  a Perfect God using imperfect people. Because of Tommy I’m in ministry now and preaching the Gospel. Tommy said to me once that he feels like he can’t be used by God but I’m the “good works” God gave Tommy to do. Because Tommy had enough faith to not give up on me, I’m continuing the work of the Gospel that Tommy started in me. I’m praying that Tommy will get better, and don’t know what the final outcome will be, but I’m trusting God. The Lord is in control of this.

Tommy,

I love you. Thank you for not giving up on me. Your my hero.

Love,

Michael