David Dye

I realize that this is a reprint from a couple of years ago, but today my brother-in-law, David Dye went home to be with the Lord.  The following quote from David a year and a half ago here on the ranch will explain why I can say that confidently.

Having been raised here, I have had lots of fun memories of the ranch and of this reservoir.

I remember riding horses in the water with no saddles, chasing turtles, fishing, evening campfires with marshmallows, and cutting blocks of ice in the wintertime for storage in the icehouse for the summer.

Around 15 years ago while swimming in this reservoir, I found myself halfway across, started to get short of breath and realized I didn’t have a 21-year-old set of lungs anymore.  I had to make a quick decision of going back or to try for the other side. I made the decision to keep on swimming.  I was yelling out for help and thought to myself, so this is how it all ends, done in by drowning?  I actually saw my obituary in the Ekalaka Eagle.  After going under 3 times, I finally reached shore having never been more thankful to land on solid ground.  I remember how small I felt in this vast expanse of water.

Over the years I have thought a lot about some of the decisions I have made and wondered how, or why I made those decisions.

 I finally realized through trial and error that I was allowing the devil too much play time in my life and decided there had to be a better way.  The devil likes to start out the relationship with fun and every time, somewhere, somehow along the line he finally slams the hammer down and sits back and laughs at you and says ha, ha, (got you again) 100% of the time.  I could go to Las Vegas and have better odds.

I have heard that the average person makes three thousand decisions per day or 90,000 decisions per month or around a million decisions per year.  If I live 75 years at a million decisions per year that’s more zeros than I can put on paper and I started to wonder why haven’t I taken the time to make the right decision for Jesus and give Him my heart and soul.  Of all the decisions I have made in my lifetime, this is the only decision that will last for all eternity.

I know that in my life for too long I have been stirring this bowl of soup called procrastination.  I decided that I had procrastinated long enough and that it was time to make a decision.

With all the problems in this world we are having, the warning signs are becoming more and more concerning & I think time is very short.

Jesus promises that if you believe in him & repent he will give you eternal life. I heard Pastor John Hagee say that when a person dies someone will get that person’s soul, Satan or God. For years I have believed in God, It scares me to death the thought of having had the chance to give him my soul and never doing anything about it.  Jesus wanted me to make that break from the devil, finally repent, and accept Christ as my Savior. I made that decision about a month ago with a smile, knowing that I had made the right choice. Heaven is forever and Hell is forever.  The choice was mine to make and I have chosen God’s free gift of Salvation and eternity in Heaven.

Life here on earth is all about choices and decisions.  This is why I’m here today at this baptism.  Today we are gathered here at my baptism as I have finally made the decision to be obedient to the Word of God and be baptized publicly. 

There are many thoughts on how to describe success or being successful.  What does it take to be a successful person? Is it nice cars, big ranches, college education lots of money?  Personally my idea of success is standing before Jesus and having him tell me, “Job well done soldier, Job well done, you may now enter the gates of Heaven.

I want to thank a friend of mine, Perry Elliot who is not here today, for working on me for so many years as we worked together on the railroad.  For years he questioned me on where I stood in life on my thoughts about the Lord.  Finally thanks to Chip and Dru for all the conversations about God that we have had here on the ranch as well as the many phone calls .

So tonight I just want to say that David has now heard "Job well done soldier, Job well done, you may now enter the gates of Heaven."  And on the other side of those gates he had Jesus waiting to greet him with his mom, dad, grandparents and his nephew Wade.

Miss you David Dye, but so glad that I will see you in Heaven someday!