Sometimes the air you breathe is enough of a reward. Sometimes the sun you feel is more than a gift. Sometimes the water from the well quenches more than thirst. Sometimes your heart feels empty because of people you don’t see.
Today it’s one of those times. I can’t feel warmth because of the shining sun. It’s not that I’m hiding from sunlight, it’s because of the cold feeling of missing my connection of those past is haunting my heart. You see, my brother is heavily on my mind and in my heart. We lost him nearly three years ago to a freak auto accident. He was on his way to church for a musical rehearsal when he was struck by a speeding truck.
LeVern loved God, preached the Gospel and sung in praise at every opportunity. He was this amazing guy, even during his down spiral he aided the love of others. He did not stop believing in the land of milk and honey. Not at one moment of life. LeVern instead studied the word and made peace with God in spite of his troubles and tribulations.
LeVern, the first of my siblings with the same parents, was a joyful arrival. He made way for family in so many ways. He was blessed with a voice, a powerful vocal that could raise the roof in church during his early years. He sung with passion, and of love with note after note. Whatever lyric over a tune, he’d touch your heart and make you believe. His natural talent only enhanced his love of music. He learned to play both piano and trumpet. But his love, first and foremost, was his voice. The man could sing. I mean sing and lift the voice of angels only to be his back up chorus.
I miss him today. It dawned on me that his birthday is in the coming week ahead. Maybe it’s why I played one of the last songs he recorded, “Heaven is My Goal” and there’s more of his music being played on the local radio in Augusta. His impact on the community still lives. “He touched the drunk and the lost,” as Dad would say after scolding him for preaching in a bar. LeVern’s response, “They need God too.”
I sit with an incomplete heart, feeling the loss of my family and friend, my loved ones and I know why he loved that song so much. “Heaven is My Goal,” because here is only a temporary joy. Heaven is everlasting and fulfilling.
I pray he’s in heaven smiling like he always did on earth.
Lonz Cook 