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Soon after Gentry and Hadley Eddings left a family wedding, a tragic four-car collision would change the North Carolina parents’ lives forever. The crash killed the couple’s 2-year-old son, Dobbs; and their unborn son, Reed, later died following an emergency C-section surgery.
The family recently held a celebration of life for the two young boys, during which Gentry Eddings offered a message of forgiveness toward Matthew Deans, the man suspected of causing the fatal collision.
“We have, in our hearts, forgiven the man who did this,” he said. “It was not the easiest thing to do, but in some ways it was because we know – Hadley and I – that Jesus Christ has forgiven us our debt.”
That Christian influence was apparent in a description of Dobbs. His family will remember him as a vibrant child who loved music and had already begun to learn Bible verses.
In fact, just one day before his death, Gentry said he taught his son a passage that resonated so much more after the tragedy that followed.
“Be still,” Psalm 46 reads, “and know that I am God.”
The grieving father continued, noting that in light of Christ’s ultimate gift of forgiveness, “it was very easy to forgive a man who made an accident.”
More than 800 attendees showed up for the service at Charlotte’s Forest Hill Church to support the Eddings family. Senior Pastor David Chadwick was among those moved by the touching memorial.
“We will stand with you,” he told the couple. “We will lift you up in our prayers. We will hug you when we see you. We will walk with you through the grief.”
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth