Sadness Covers Our Holiday

Long night.....
Kind of numb this morning......
Got a call that no one ever wants to get.
My brother, Wayne, called to let me know that my nephew, Jeff Bynum, had died of a heart attack.
Can't be true....
Jeff is young....
Jeff is active and always on the go....
But these thoughts in my brain did not change the truth of what my brother had told me.

Wayne, through tears, said, "I've lost my son, and my best friend."
Wayne and Jeff worked together restoring VW's, and were well known through out the VW circuit that extended around the world. Cars they had restored were featured in many articles published in different VW magazines. A crew from England came over to Oneonta to feature one of their cars in a British publication that focused on VW's.

I kept coming up with reasons why Jeff's death could not be true.....But the pain of reality cancelled them out one by one. Sitting up, after my brother had called, the memories kicked in. I could see Jeff at different points in his growing up years....
He loved tennis....I never will forget at one of the Bynum Christmas get-together's, Jeff showed us his present that Santa had brought. I didn't know what it was, nor did I have a clue as to what it did. It looked like a cross between a drill press, and some sort of medieval torture device. Jeff was stoked as he demonstrated how to work this contraption. Turned out it was a device he could use to re-string tennis rackets. Jeff, the tennis aficionado, made it available to all his friends who played. That was my nephew...always helping others.

I don't think I've ever met anyone who loved life as much as Jeff did.....
He loved his wife....and travel was a passion for the two of them.....
If ever there were two that were suited, Jeff and Nicki fit that bill...
They were like PB&J....The were more than husband and wife..they were best-est friends. Isn't that the way it's suppose to be? I think maybe yes.

Jeff was the definition of a friend.
Always ready to help anyone, he went out of his way (and then some) to get the job done.
Jeff was constantly having to buy new shirts to wear, as he gave away the ones on his back.
Dry sense of humor.....Jeff Bynum loved to laugh.

He loved his mom and dad, as well as his sister, Amy....
The two of them were partners in crime so to speak...
I love to hear the two of them share stories about their growing up years together....
These memories will become as precious as gold from this moment forward.

Please pray for Jeff's parents, Wayne and Sue Bynum, as well as the entire Bynum clan.
Such isn't suppose to happen to a father.....
You're not suppose to bury your children....
There will be a lot of "Why's" asked in the coming days....
But we will fall upon the mercy and love of God to see us through....
Blessings to you all....
One last thing...
Here is Jeff in his Halloween costume....
He was a "Cereal" Killer....

God on you this morning....