Daily Devotions
Tribute to Donald Lynn Sullivan (1943-2016)
Reading for October 21st: Mark 14
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
My father-in-law, Donnie Sullivan, passed from this life on Tuesday afternoon, and today we lay his body to rest. Donnie had a fall on July 8 of last year which paralyzed him from the chest down. He did well for a while, making amazing progress with his rehab, but for the last month and a half he declined rapidly because of difficulty breathing. His broken body finally gave up.
At the visitation tonight, it was funny how everyone said the same thing, almost as if they had rehearsed beforehand what to say to us about Donnie. "He was such a good man." "He did so much for me." "He was always so kind and generous." It didn't matter if it was friends from church, from his job, from the community, or from his school days... everyone said the same thing about him.
That was Donnie. There was nothing flashy about him. He was a quiet, simple, and humble man who had a the heart of a servant. He loved to do things for others. That was really the hardest part about the last year for Donnie. It wasn't merely the inconvenience of being bound to a wheelchair. Because of his handicap, he couldn't do what he used to do for others.
At one really low point he expressed to a couple of brothers from church his frustration with feeling so worthless, unable to do what he did before. They recommended he call folks who needed encouragement. And so he started calling the shut in or the sick or those who just needed someone to talk to. There was a man with terminal cancer that Donnie would call every week. The impact of these calls was multiplied because, as people would say after a call from him, "Donnie is dealing with so much and yet he thought of me!"
By God's grace, I know that Donnie is with the Lord now. Though there is sadness for us because he's no longer with us, we rejoice over the victory Christ has given him. And in a way he is still with us. Every time I see my wife selflessly give of herself to others, I am reminded of her father who showed her what it means to be a servant to others.
Father, I thank you for Donnie. I thank you for his example of selfless service. I thank you for the legacy he left behind in his children and grandchildren. And I thank you for the hope we have in Christ that he is at rest now and that we can see him again someday!
