Jim

A few days ago, March 5th, was the 5 year anniversary of a man who lost his battle with cancer. A man who led many to Christ through music, a quiet faith, and a love for people. This man was Jim Weldy. I grew up with his family through North Main. I have many memories of Jim, but one of the fondest, and one that many people remember is every Christmas Eve Jim would always sing "O Holy Night". It never really felt like Christmas until you heard this song by him. There was always something different about a song when Jim sang it. I didn't realize what it was until the Christmas after Jim had died. I realized that Jim sang with TRUTH. He sang with such conviction of what he was singing. He truly believed every word of the song. I am blessed to have a CD of 20 songs that Jim recorded over the years. We played one of them at our wedding. On my drive back to Merrillville the other day, I slipped it in the CD player and listened intently to each word that came from his mouth. One song particularly got to me. The chorus says,

"Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave."

It's too bad that I find such value in these songs now that Jim is gone. But I feel that this is part of his life and testimony. These songs are part of his legacy. I'm one that was touched by his faith and generosity. Even in the darkest of days. I can almost hear Jesus leading him into Heaven and saying,

"He said 'my child look around you-

FOR GREAT IS YOUR REWARD'".

Thank you Jim, for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed.