Today’s entry is more personal.
Safe Harbor’s Maintenance Supervisor – and my husband – Wes Pettie fell asleep in death on March 14th, 2023.
If you had the pleasure of knowing Wes, you know he was a man of faith. So I will write this tribute through the eyes of his favorite passage of scripture, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Cor.14
Wes had over 30 years of maintenance experience. If anyone had a right to ‘lose heart’ it would be the man who had to fix broken things his whole life! But he embraced the encouragement to never get discouraged and instead embraced his hope that was renewed day by day.
He is survived by me and our children Kenneth, James, Tyrone, Celeste Evans, Ebony, and Shantel. Those children also gave Wes 9 grandchildren to celebrate, love, and teach.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
2 Corinthians:17
In addition to being our maintenance man, he also taught his trade to anyone who would listen. This resulted in Wes being the kind of leader who would not stand aloof and dictate. Instead, he would jump into the fray, get his hands dirty, and work right alongside everyone on our team.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2nd Corinthians: 18
So on that final night, Wes closed his eyes in our home and opened them in the presence of Jesus and his family members who had preceded him in death.
Wes fixed his eyes on His Hope in living again without pain and in good health on earth forever in the near future. All day, every day, he saw the brokenness of temporal ‘stuff’ But he held on to the eternal truth of the fact that the Almighty God Jehovah is the rightful ruler of this earth. He told this truth to everyone he met.
But he held onto the eternal truth of who Jesus said he was: A man of God, called, empowered, and destined to make an impact for good. For believers, even the worst of times can bring about a positive impact to those around us.
We are following in Wes’ example of fixing our eyes on the unseen spiritual things and putting our hope in the promises of the Bible. This keeps us focused and Joyful.
Thank you for allowing me to celebrate my man in this manner.
Marie Pettie
