A Texas pastor has died from a heart attack just hours after delivering an Easter sermon in which he confessed he wished he had died along with his late wife who passed away two months prior.
Rev. Earl W. "Buddy" Duggins, 81, of Forest Home Baptist Church in Kilgore, Texas had been married to his late wife for 59 years when she died earlier this year.
Duggins was delivering a passionate sermon on Sunday, and as he moved towards the conclusion he explained to congregants how he had struggled privately with the passing of his wife, Connie.
In the sermon, which was live-streamed on Facebook, he said, "I close with this true testimony from my heart. I prayed about it and God told me to get it."
He continued, "Just about two-and-a-half months ago my wife of 59 years plus passed, died. I was by her bedside. I kissed her lips just seconds before she drew her last breath. My family was there. My girls, one of my grandsons and my son-in-law were there. We of course wept. I said these words, 'absent from the body present with the Lord."
Duggins admitted that he tried to continue on as well as he could; he led his wife's funeral and tried to put on a brave face. However, he struggled to overcome the loss of his lifelong partner.
He told his congregants, "I was having a difficult time sleeping. I would cry myself to sleep every night.
"My family stayed with me for a few nights, then I stayed over at my daughter's home for a few nights. They [would] say, 'how you doing dad?' I said, 'Oh, I'm fine.'
"But I would cover up my head in my little room and I would cry and cry and cry. And after a while the Lord spoke to my heart, and I began to thank God."
Duggins went on to testify that God comforted him: "The Bible came to my heart, 'in everything give thanks, for this is the will of Christ concerning you.' And I wanted to be in God's will and so I began to pray. 'Lord, I thank you for the 59 years four months, 13 days and one hour that we had together."
Then he added, "And then it came to me, why am I left?"
He said, "And it bothered my heart. Here's my wife that we wanted to go together. And she's now gone.
"I said, 'Lord, why am I left?' And the answer has come to my heart. 'I've left you here to do nothing more than to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you've been preaching for 55 years."
He continued, "So I stand today this resurrection day to tell you, Jesus Christ is alive. He has helped me. He has blessed me. I praise His holy name today."
Following the sermon, Duggins began to feel poorly, and an ambulance was called to assist. Medics rushed him to Christus Good Shepherd hospital, but he died of a heart attack soon after.
The church's minister of music, Mark Fried, has reported, "Buddy and Connie's marriage was a wonderful picture of God's love. Their 59 years of marriage saw many blessings, including the birth of their three beloved daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Buddy's family was his pride and joy."
He added, "Buddy stood by Connie's side through her nine battles with cancer. Their faith in God saw them through and kept them close to each other."
