Uncle Bubby: "If you have God, you don't need nothin' else."

Uncle Bubby passed away today.  

You don't know him.  Honestly, I don't know him very well anymore.  He was Uncle Bubby.

Uncle Bubby was my Mom's youngest brother.  This is the second sibling she has lost too early.  

I was born to a young Mom and when we lived with my Grandma, my Uncle Bubby was there too.  He was loud and taught me "hut, hut, hike" which were my first ever words.  And he bought me my first football helmet and uniform.  Broncos, of course. 

My Uncle was a gigantic Broncos fan and yet never could afford to go to a game.  He was covered with tatoos until he was able to have the gang tats covered quite some time after becoming a believer. 

I have heard the stories.  (Over and over again.)

He was there when I was born.  He took my Mom to the hospital.  Standing guard at the nursery window.  Or the story when I was riding with him and he had to stop quickly and I hit the dash.  He left the car running and ran down the street carrying me to the house.   I heard how he punched his friends if they cussed in front of me.  

He called the family on Christmas and Thanksgiving and my Mom tried to keep that relationship going.  She had always been his protector.

The addictions from his youth took their toll on his mind and his body.  Alcohol, meth and other drugs ravaged him. 

He spent quite some time in jail throughout his life.  He spent time being homeless.  He hurt people and people hurt him.  Life was never easy for him.

He lost a son to abuse and one daughter to an accident.  He missed out on two of his grandchildren's lives.  

Even with all of this, God blessed him with a daughter found later in life and his two granddaughters were a light in his life. 

My Uncle had dyslexia and struggled with reading.  But, he loved God's Word and his recovery Bible and was very involved in Celebrate Recovery in his Highlander church.  

I talked to him, not long ago, and he told me when he was feeling better, he would come to my church and give his testimony.  

About how God loved him and saved him. How God took him and accepted him.  

He said, "I want to tell others about if you have God, you don't need nothin' else."

My Uncle has had more opportunities to die then most and yet, God kept him. 

What we count as worthy, God considers rubbish.  I think we would be surprised what God counts as worthy.  Who He counts as worthy.  

My Uncle died without one treasure on this earth.  I pray God rewarded him today with treasures in heaven.  Poverty, hopelessness, struggle, tragedy and pain is behind him now.

Why do I believe?  How do I know God is real and wants to be actively involved in our lives?

Because, God has saved me.  Because, God loves me.  

And because I know, "if you have God, you don't need nothin' else!"

My friend mailed a tree medallion she made from a picture of a tree near her house.  The tree arrived in the mail and I opened it right after hearing about my Uncle Bubby.  

A tree with leaves, flowers, roots and rough patches.  A tree that yields its fruit in season.  

You see I was this seedling.  Someone planted into my Mom and my family's lives.  God used those seeds to create a garden.

I've been transplanted, pruned, cut and broken.  I long to be a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in its season.  

When I die, and I meet Uncle Bubby in heaven, I want him to know I told you his story.  

"If you have God, you don't need nothin' else."

God has kept me. God wants to keep you.