Safe Passage
Ed Horn passed away earlier today after battling a rare form of cancer for the past nine months. While I didn’t know Ed very well, I did know him, and I’ve known his wife’s family for 20+ years. Ed was one of those “good guys” you hear about – loved his family, loved God, always had a smile, concerned about you no matter his situation: a good guy. Sure, he wasn’t perfect. No one is. But guys like Ed make you understand God a little bit better. Knowing Ed even the little I did was a privilege.
His wife Kelley made daily updates on their website so people would know how he was doing, and in every picture, she and Ed were smiling. Through every report of every setback or more bad news, they realized that they were in bigger hands than their own, and the God who carried them this far would carry them however much farther they were meant to go. Watching them through these last months has been a challenge to me and I want to thank them both for showing God’s grace and strength.
Shortly before Ed passed away this afternoon, his wife and her brother read II Corinthians 4:16-18 together:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Ed is in a better place now, with his God, his Maker. Thank you, Lord, for letting me know Ed, even just a little.
Please pray for Kelley and their two kids at this time. While there is joy that Ed’s suffering is over, there is grief over his loss.
It actually made me cry, not that he died but that he smiled in every picture with his wife before he did so. You could tell in their faces that they lived life to the fullest together.
In my last email to Ed and Kelley, I thanked them for ministering to us through their testimony, ministering to us in ways that far outweighed our ministry of prayer and support for them.
I, too, knew Ed in only and aquaintance, but I am thankful that I did know him.
Thank you for donating space in your blog for a tribute, Mark. I just returned home last night, & it is still such a comfort to see the thousands Ed touched in 30 years.
Thank you, Mark. With the intense suffering Edward endured, I believe that Jesus welcomed him with open arms and no words – none were necessary. Edward taught Kelley well, but she still cries. Remember her often; God does all things well.
I miss him badly. Thanks for this tribute, Mark.