Life Defined

POWERS Christopher Johnston Powers died peacefully surrounded by his family and closest friends near midnight on June 21st of injuries sustained in a serious cycling accident nearly 1 month earlier. He was born in 1955, lived in El Paso and left behind his beloved wife, Peggy, daughter Sarah Beth and son Chris Jr. We had the privilege of knowing them through Sarah Beth, who was our daughter Molly's roommate in college. We did not know the family well, but we so enjoyed the few times we were able to be with them for sorority functions, football games and mother/daughter events. 

I know this is an out of the ordinary email, but weeks ago, when I heard this news, I contacted my friend Pam who lives in Houston who is Peggy's sister, and we talked and she sent me the obituary and a couple of days later sent me a letter that was written by one of Chris' coffee shop acquaintances. I was writing notes to the family this morning and reread this letter and as I read it it struck me that every single one of us has the same opportunity as Chris had, to share Christ, and be a reflection of the Christ who lives within us. So here is the letter and even if you do not know the man of whom it was written, I think that it will stir your heart and get you thinking a bit.   

A Man of Christ

He was not exactly a friend, although I would have been honored to call him one; but he seemed more than just a casual acquaintance, although in retrospect it was probably just that I wanted to know him more.    How strange to feel so drawn to someone of whom I knew so little.    I heard of his passing early Friday morning and was quite surprised at the intensity with which I felt his loss.    So it was with some bewilderment and confusion that I found myself sitting in the pew at his funeral.    Why was I there?  

Was part of it that literally everyone I knew, who knew him, had nothing but kind words about him?    Was it the connection in prayer, as we had been praying for him and his family for weeks?   Was it the way I had seen him look at his wife, the way I look at mine?   Was it the light that he seemed to radiate?  What was it?  It troubled me.

We would often see each other at the bagel shop on Friday mornings and he would intentionally make eye contact and flash a knowing smile my direction.  While he was respectful not to interrupt if I was talking to someone, he somehow managed to affirm me with just a nod.    Although I knew nothing of his background, I deduced from his scrubs that he was in the medical profession.   What I did know about him was that he had intelligent eyes and a quiet confidence in his voice that made you listen more carefully when he spoke.

So there I sat, attending the celebration of the life of a man that in reality I did not really know,  surrounded by his friends and family, still not clear as to why I was there? Everyone knew his background as a lawyer and then doctor - everyone except me, he was just Chris.  He was always just ‘Chris’, from the first time we were introduced.   On one occasion my wife Laurie and I sat next to him and his wife Peggy at a Mentor One dinner, and we talked all through dinner - never once did he talk about what he did, but rather focused in on what both Laurie and I did.   When he found out that we both went to high school in Virginia, he joked with Peggy that he finally found some east coasters that knew less about El Paso than he did.    I recall him asking incredibly probing and thoughtful questions about my mentee, Chuy, and being intrigued at how genuinely interested he was in him.    I assumed that he was another Mentor or perhaps wanted to join the program, but soon discovered he was one of the board members of the Wayside Teen Center.         

Resisting the temptation to flee moments before the funeral commenced, I sat stoically griped by uncertainty, until his brother started to speak.    As I listened to first his bereaved brother, then his courageous daughter, and finally his heartbroken son, I started to melt – not just from the passionate and emotional words of those closest to him,  not just from the heat, although I felt a fire burning, but rather I thawed and awakened to the presence of the Holy Spirit alive and pulsing through the sanctuary. In an instant, I knew why I had come….this was a man who had fully surrendered his life to Jesus Christ.  I had been struggling for many months to comprehend the simplicity of that goal, and the difficulty of actually living it. I was there to honor and learn from a man who had lived that life.     

He was not just a father, but a loving and devoted father; he was not just a husband, but a husband who had honored and fully loved his wife; he was not just a doctor, but a doctor whose compassion and tenderness were equally as important as his skills, he was a man whose heart was always open to those who God put in his path.

Chris Powers was a Man of Christ, whose life was defined by who he was in Christ, not by what he did.   He was a Christian who had allowed the power of the Holy Spirit to be unleashed!     

He was not exactly a friend, but he will forever be remembered as a brother.

In Christ,

Bruce Bradford

 

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!