To sionnsar and All from Arlin Adams' wife

Some thoughts | 11/20/2004 | Arlin's wife

[ahadams2]

Dear Sionnsar (and All),

Sionnsar, we are so grateful to you for serving us by being the new "Anglican Pinglist Guy". You have stated that no one can fill Arlin's shoes, and you're right. It's brave of you to be our de facto leader anyway! THANK YOU.

Many have said they would like to have Arlin here to comment on some of the threads; yes, Arlin's comments blessed many of us time and again, and it's an honor that many are still feeling the absence of those comments. Though I have been quiet, I consider each of you to be my friend, too.

To the extent that the Lord allows it, Arlin does know what is happening now that he's gone. And of course, being Arlin, he undoubtedly has an opinion about these happenings. All who were touched by Arlin would agree that he was a unique and brilliant man, kind and dependable toward all of his friends and colleagues. He was never timid. He was at times ferocious, but ferocious only when appropriate and necessary.

Do I wish Arlin were here to comment? No. It was God's sovereign timing that took Arlin from this life September 3, 2004. Arlin's earthly body had been in excruciating pain since April 1983, and it was with invincible character and courage that he constantly expressed his magnificent personality and used his extraordinary mind for the two decades following his injury.

The joy for all of us missing him is that we do get to see him again at some point. Maybe not for fifty years, but eventually. And you know, I think he misses us too. Of course, he's a busy man up there, spending time with the One he exuberantly loved -- the Lord Jesus, as well as with Father God and the Holy Spirit; and he's getting to spend time with his father, Pastor Adams, with his little brother Freddie who he hadn't seen since 1960, and with all of redeemed mankind who have gone before.

Arlin's sister kiddingly says he is probably up there debating Moses or something. I believe Arlin received quite a welcome when he arrived in Heaven, by folks who knew of his obedient willingness to serve, his tireless prayer ministry, and his boldness for the Lord during his lifetime. Now that Arlin is absent from the body and present with the Lord and now that he sees clearly rather than through a glass dimly, he finally knows something impossible to know while living out his allotted time, and that's what was the fruit borne of his labors. What Arlin would want, now that he's gone from here, is for each one of us to strive to find the work the Lord chooses for us individually and then to do it with great abandon. Part of Arlin's daily prayer was from Ephesians 2:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

We each have areas in which we are debilitated and we each have areas in which we are strong, able, and talented. Arlin would encourage us to

1) yield to the fiery furnace of our own debilitations so the refiner's fire will burn off all the dross, and

2) use and multiply our talents so that our abilities will be used for the Lord's work and for the furthering of His Kingdom.

I think he wants us to keep praying, to keep proclaiming the Truth, and to have great faith, great trust, great hope, and great love. May we each remain in the Faith, loving and serving the Lord Jesus. God bless and keep each one of you.

Sincerely, Sharon Adams

[ahadams2]

To Sionnsar and All,

from Sharon Adams, wife of Arlin Adams

Revelation 12:10-11

10Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A548624D9

or

http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&passage=rev+12&version=NKJV

[ahadams2]

"Ping" from Sharon Adams, wife of Arlin Adams

[WinOne4TheGipper]

bump

[Grampa Dave]

Pinging this great message from Sharon Adams, wife of Arlin Adams.

[sionnsar]

Sionnsar, we are so grateful to you for serving us by being the new "Anglican Pinglist Guy". You have stated that no one can fill Arlin's shoes, and you're right. It's brave of you to be our de facto leader anyway! THANK YOU.

Dear Sharon,

Thank YOU! I know I'll never be able to do the job Arlin did, but I'm trying as best I can. When I say "I wish Arlin were here..." it's an expression of how much his absence down here is still felt. But I knew (a little) of his pain now ended -- and pain or no he is certainly in a far better place. The Good Lord willing, one day I, no, we all shall meet him there.

sionnsar

[sionnsar]

Sharon and all,

We should also extend our thanks to newheart, who (despite being on the road probably even more than I am) has offered to help out as backup Traditional Anglican ping list manager.

[sitetest]

Dear Sharon,

Thank you for a very nice post. I can see that Arlin's wife is just as swell as Arlin.


sitetest

[ahadams2]

To all, you're most welcome, and thanks for all of your kind words. Newheart, thank you, too.

It is an honor to be a part of the great work being done here on Free Republic.

Sharon Adams

[freedumb2003]

Wow

This is pretty touching and pretty neat. I didn't know you were such a heavy hitter outside of shop class.

Good on you, mate!

[Grampa Dave]

It is an honor to have been on the ping lists of the Adams.

[ken5050]

Dear Sharon..

It's easy to tell that Arlin was blessed with a wonderful partner here on earth. I trust that all is well with you and the rest of your family, and that time has started to mend the hurt.

[NYer]

Dear Sharon,

Please accept this prayer for you and Arlin. It is from the Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving of the Anaphora of St. James, Brother of the Lord, of the Maronite Catholic Church. The celebrant addresses the Father in these words:

You formed us from the earth
and conferred on us the joy of paradise,
When we transgressed your command and sinned
you neither neglected nor rejected us,
but rather, like a merciful father, you sought us.
By the Law you called us back:
by the prophets you guided us
and, at last, you sent your only Son,
our Lord and God Jesus Christ, into this world
that he might renew your image in us.
The child you sent healed us;
he sought us out and in various ways
he called us
O Lover of all, have mercy on us!

May your Thanksgiving be filled with God's embrace.

[Askel5]

Thanks for getting me on the list in the first place, Ken5050.

Indeed it was a pleasure reading Arlin and having him explain things to me for the very brief time I knew him. I think all are grateful you took up the banner, sionnsar. Good show.

I can only imagine how much he is missed by you, ahadams2, but I can see by your comments that you are true to the Christian commission that is hope and, like arlin, someone who thinks first of others, keeping close to the Lord always. Thank you again for sharing him with us ... I can imagine that the time spent online by the more inveterate of internet warriors is sometimes begrudged at best by their loved ones.

Take care.

[No_Outcome_But_Victory]

We miss Arlin but we will see him in Heaven one day.

[sionnsar]

Thanks. It's all Arlin's doing: first the ping list, then he started asking for help on formatting some of the more difficult postings, then he came up with the idea of the Traditional Anglican Resource page... all I did was the follow-through.

[ahadams2]

Thanks again for all of your kind words.

NYer, the poem is lovely, thank you.

Sharon

[ahadams2]

Askel5, you said, 'Thank you again for sharing him with us ... I can imagine that the time spent online by the more inveterate of internet warriors is sometimes begrudged at best by their loved ones.'

Frankly, loved ones begrudging time spent on the Net and FR in particular, is a concern. In general, I think it's possible for FReepers to neglect fam by spending too much time here. Possible. Not always. But, a smart FReeper WILL be sensitive to their loved ones' feelings on that. And said FReepers hopefully will cut back to a reasonable amount of time when it gets out of hand.

As for Arlin and me ... I was grateful that he could be online and here in FReepLand, because he had a back and leg injury, was in chronic pain, and his mobility was affected. Here, he was doing something wholesome, making an impact, and talking with some really smart people. And that made me happy.

But, if any particular situation in FReepLand made me uncomfortable, I told him. And the good news is, he listened and adjusted his communication accordingly. If he had not done that, at some point I would have felt less than supportive of his interaction with at least some FReepers.

So, FReepers, if your loved ones are feeling neglected b/c of how much time you're spending here, heads up! FReeperVille's a great place, but it ain't worth wrecking your marriage over.

Sharon

[Askel5]

So, FReepers, if your loved ones are feeling neglected b/c of how much time you're spending here, heads up! FReeperVille's a great place, but it ain't worth wrecking your marriage over.

You all appear to have handled the situation with aplomb. It's a pity your caveat doesn't appear on the home page, though. In addition to FR's being a timesink, it's unfortunate but true that it becomes an opportunity for married folks to bend and break their vows ... depending, of course, on how literally they take Christ's specific caveats regarding adultery of the heart.

I can see where the site would be a helpful distraction, though, where it allows someone in Arlin's position to lose track of time AND pain in the process. I'm glad you brought that up ... I'd forgotten how many times just such a situation has turned out to be the case behind some of the more faithful posters.

You two certainly were blessed to have each other and, again, I'm really grateful you shared yourselves here. Stories like Arlin's, marriages like yours, thinking of others so soon after losing your beloved and the way you both put faith first are instructive to the rest of us where the cardinal virtues are concerned.

Both your thread and those devoted to FReeper Kixx's last days and his death have given me a lot to think about and Hope for.

Take care.

[bonfire]

Arlin is sooo missed......but sionnsar is doing a bang up job!!

God bless you and your family,

bonfire

[newheart]

Yes, Arlin is greatly missed. No doubt far more by your, Sharon, than by we Freepers who are all grateful to your for sharing him with us.

But Sionnsar has picked up the torch admirably. Even while he was on the road he picked up and pinged to new articles before I even knew they existed. i am really glad of that since my road trip last week was much more hectic than expected.

So thanks for the kind words to me. I still stand ready to help.