Life’s Curveballs

It doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should, but every now and then, a special person will come into your life and touch you in a very special way. I have known Jim Walter for roughly 13 years as one of our priests at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Montgomery Alabama.

Jim is the type of person that you just love when you meet him. Jim is a down to earth southern gentleman with a slow southern draw and a caring personality. I have always loved his sermons because you never knew just what you were going to get on Sunday morning. He would just scribble some notes down on paper and when he got to the pulpit, he just started talking. He would speak to you and not at you and always from the heart. Jim used stories to relay his message, and he had many stories.

Anyone that has attended St. John’s over the last 13 years would know everything about Jim, his upbringing, parents, grandparents, special people in his life, time in the service, and all of his school years, including his time at Virginia Seminary. Jim says that when he “arrived at Seminary he was 28 going on 12.” To this day Jim is still a teenager in his mind. He always had a funny true story to tell. Jim said that, “Laughter has a way of cleaning out the ears so we can hear better, it opens us up.”

Sharing a Special Time

I came to know Jim on a more personal level in 1996 and 1997. My father had been a diabetic for over 30 years and required heart by-pass surgery and was scheduled for it in the later months of 1996. During my father’s stay in the hospital, assisted living facility, and eventually a nursing home, Jim visited him often. Where I couldn’t, Jim was able to relate to my father because of the closeness of their age.

Only months after my father’s by-pass surgery, his kidneys started to shut down and he required dialysis, which scared him to death. I’m not sure what it was that scared him, for he was a very private man and never told me of his fears. This fear was something I could see in his face and his doctor came to me not long after the start of these treatments. He told me that my father had refused further dialysis treatment. Even though I knew he was signing his own death warrant, there was nothing I could do. I had to abide by his wishes but his dying would not be quick, easy, or painless. His doctor told me what to expect in the coming weeks and it was not going to be an easy thing to watch.

On the early morning of April 16, 1997, I got the call that I always knew would come. My father had slipped into a coma and I was told it would be best that I get there as soon as possible. Jim met my wife and me at the door of the nursing home and stayed with us in my father’s room until the time came. I held my father’s hand while my wife told him not to worry about us. I don’t know if he could hear us but about that time, his breathing became very shallow and he just slipped away from us. Jim put his hand on my shoulder as the nurse check for a heartbeat. It was over, his struggle and pain was no more.

That moment in time will be forever frozen in my mind, and I will never forget that bond that can only be experienced during someone’s death.

The Last Sermon

Soon to be 80 years old, this past Sunday, December 9, 2007 was Jim’s last sermon at St. Johns. I will miss him and never forget that moment we shared 10 years prior. I will also remember his last sermon and it’s only fitting to end this with some of Jim’s own words of wisdom…

I am going to give you 4 things that came to me but not from within me.

1. Faith needs doubt to keep faith honest. Doubt needs faith to give life meaning.

2. Judgment needs forgiveness to help us accept our imperfections. Forgiveness needs judgment to keep us honest.

3. Brokenness needs reconciliation to make us aware of our indifference. Reconciliation needs brokenness to make us aware of our loneliness.

4. Love needs tears to give depth to our feelings. Tears need love to give us hope.

~ The Rev. Dr. James I. Walter