Todd Coleman Gaston

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Words fail me right now.  Each few seconds I feel as if I am taking a heavy blow to the stomach.  We are so grieved for the tragic loss of one of our very best friends.  I have not even been able to get on here and type this because if I do then somehow that makes it all the more real.

I received a phone call from my man Monday.  I knew when I heard his voice that something was bad wrong.  He told me the news that his very best friend took his life on Monday morning.  We knew bits and pieces of the fact that he had been struggling with life in general for 25 years and battling severe “social anxiety/panic attacks along with depression.  As I type this I want you to know that his wife, Tiana, has given me permission to share his story.  She was one of the only people on this earth that saw his struggle and suffering day in and day out.  I can’t even begin to tell you what this man meant to me personally or to Rod.  There were hundreds and I mean hundreds of people lined up tonight at his visitation.  Todd touched so many lives and he truly loved God with all of his heart, that is something I couldn’t be anymore sure about.  He was a Christian, and is with Jesus, yet He suffered and was ill.  Some ask, “is he in heaven?”  A resounding YES!  Can someone suffer that way and have the hope of Christ in their heart?  Yes!  Is depression real, VERY!  My heart is just about to ache its way out of my chest.  If you or someone you know is battling depression reach out for help.  Tell your friends.  Please set aside your pride and speak up.  Get it in the light so people can pray for you.  Yes we live in a world chock full of judgmental people but you are not alone. 

For the true believer in Christ you are sealed unto the day of redemption, yet you can also be terribly oppressed.

^{Ephesians 4:30}And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 Luke 4:¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
      because he has anointed me
      to preach good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
      and recovery of sight for the blind,
   to release the oppressed,

If you and I are sealed and marked with the Holy Spirit, then nothing is going to inhabit us but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

^{2 Corinthians 1:21}Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²²set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Ephesians 6:11-13 

¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

I have always loved Romans 8 and it speaks to the fact that NOTHING can keep the love of God away from the life of a follower of Christ.

 Romans 8:31-39 ³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:
   ”For your sake we face death all day long;
      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Is it sin to take your own life? Yes.  Gods word teaches that we are all sinners.  We all fall short of the glory of God.  This is not justification for the sin.  We do not sin so that grace may abound. 

Romans 3:²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

If the Lord kept a record of sins who could stand?  None of us.  He bore our shame on the cross that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.  Todd is in heaven with Jesus. 

Psalm 130:3-4

³ If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
       O Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness;
       therefore you are feared.

Why wasn’t he thinking of his family and friends when he did this?  He was ill.  Someone told me tonight that sometimes some people just feel like the world would be a better place without them.  I had to correct that.  No, I am sure for him to be that mentally ill he thought heaven would be better for him and the only way in his thinking to be free from his body of suffering. 

We are mourning but we do not mourn as those who do not have hope (1 Thess 4:13). 

Revelation 21:1-5

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Again, we knew Todd well yet he hid his agony well.  We are so sad and we will miss him so much.  We grieve for his wife Tiana,  son Jarid and step daughter Abigail.  Our hearts break that our dear friend was in so much pain.  Tiana and all of us want him to be remembered by how much he loved God and loved others.  We want others to seek wholeness and healing and continue to fight the good fight in the midst of great trials on the sod of planet earth. 

May his life bring God glory even in his death; and to the great praise and glory of God we know He is with God in Glory.  We will never be the same. 

The following is his obituary but we will remember him for so much more:

TODD C. GASTON

GASTON, TODD C., age 45, of Pelham, AL went to be with our Lord on Monday, February 22, 2010. Todd was raised in Decatur, AL and was a graduate of University of North Alabama. He was a long time member of Hunter Street Baptist Church where he taught a singles class and served in many other ministry opportunities through the church. Todd spent the last 15 years working in sales for Jenkins Brick Company and Averitt Express. He will be remembered for his giving and serving spirit as well as his humor and his love for God, his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Tiana Roper Gaston, and children Jarid Gaston and Abigail Medina; parents, Cecil and Kathleen Spivey Gaston; brother Alan Gaston (Shannon); sister, Teresa Nelson (James); nieces and nephews along with many friends. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 24th from 5-7 pm at Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, AL. Funeral Services will be held at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, AL on Thursday, February 25th at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at Southern Heritage Cemetery, Bill Decker officiating. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Todd C. Gaston Memorial Fund at Regions Bank.

Published in The Birmingham News on February 24, 2010