Honoring My Dad: Jerry Ottie Thomas (August 18, 1939 – July 4, 2024)

Anyone who knows me and knows anything about BLoved knows that the heartbeat of the work was birthed from my own healing journey as I recovered from my upbringing.  The reality is that we live in an imperfect world, the devil is a liar, and he takes every opportunity to devour the innocent and rip relationships apart, starting with our relationship with God, then ourselves and then others. But the most beautiful thing about knowing and loving God is that He is in the reconciliation business.  As we heal, we grow in our ability to love God, love self and love others and I am immeasurably grateful for the reconciled and restored relationship with my father before his passing. Things happen, people love imperfectly, and we do get wounded, but we have a Comforter who captures every tear and a Healer who restores our soul.  As I have grown in understanding of the woundedness of my heart as a little girl, and worked with other wounded women, I have found that unresolved grief is incredibly toxic.  We must grieve our losses; lost opportunities, lost relationships, lost innocence, anything and everything that the enemy has stolen from us through the brokenness of others.  Often unresolved grief can lead people to self-destructive behaviors, or other times it lurks below the surface tainting every other relationship as self-protection and self-sufficiency creep in.  This is equally as toxic and wears a mask of kindness and strength. 

I can never be more grateful for the healing journey of Father God and my relationship with Him, but I am equally grateful to be the daughter of Jerry Ottie Thomas.  Jerry Ottie Thomas took on the task of raising three little girls alone in the 70’s, something that is uncommon even today, and though things were less than ideal I honor his yes.  My father is not the man he was in the 70s which should be the testimony of anyone who declares Jesus as Lord.  It is the testimony of Jesus that takes us from glory to glory, continually revealing and exposing our imperfections so we can surrender them at the foot of the cross to be transformed into His likeness.  I am not who I was 21 years ago when I said yes to Jesus.  I am not even who I was 6 months ago, and my father was a sinner saved by grace through faith who passionately loved his family until his final breath on July 4, 2024, surrounded by his family.

I want to take this opportunity to honor the life of my father and the many things I learned from him as a young girl. Through observing my father, I learned the importance of fitness and hard work.  He was an entrepreneur extraordinaire and instilled in me a love for creativity in business.  I have the same entrepreneurial spirit and utilize it in all areas of my life.  I also saw a man who was dedicated to daily devotion and prayer and never lost his faith in the goodness of God even when his circumstances didn’t seem to change.  He was a man of faith and perseverance and when his eyes were opened to his sin, he turned his life around to a more God honoring life.  My father was married to my stepmother Sandra for 43 years and was faithfully devoted to her, his family and to the Lord.  He was the founder of All The Glory Ministries and took weekly Sunday services into area nursing homes for over 20 years.  I am grateful to be his daughter and rest in the confidence that I will see him again.  Well done, Dad.  Take your seat at the table of the Lord.  Until I see you again.