Meet James!

I met James D. Crepelle when he and my husband served together in Desert Storm. They were in the same Army unit. His wife, Tina and I bacame fast friends as we served alongside each other as Army wives and attended church together. We lost contact as life went on, working and raising our families. Reconnecting on FaceBook, we met for dinner and picked up right where we’d left off, like not one year had passed. Tina had gotten us tickets for a Christmas concert in 2022 and we were so excited to see them and share this experience. A phone call changed that though. They were not going to be able to go as James was experiencing severe abdominal pains. She took him to the ER. He was quickly diagnosed with stage 4 Esophageal cancer. He began chemotheray treatments but wasn’t a candidate for surgery.  We are overjoyed to have them back in our lives. They’ve blessed us so much. When we’re together we laugh and never run out of things to say. We literally closed down Tejun Cajun in Robinson. We met early for dinner and still ran out of time. James has been very open and vulnerable sharing his thoughts and feelings along this journey. He told me, “cancer sucks, he’s worried about Tina being alone and he’s not ready to leave this earth.” We talked about the goodness of God and how He’s already been working to make sure all his anxieties would be fine and He would supply him all the peace he needed. I shared my motto with him, “Just get through today!”  He knows that he’ll be with Jesus and Tina will be taken care of. His cancer tumors continued to grow even as he was receiving the best care and treatments. The family remained very encouraging and supportive. He received grim news early in December that there were new tumors, it has spread and there are no more treatment options. I cannot imagine hearing these words. The next visit I noticed the change in James’ voice. He wasn’t downcast and worried any longer. He had a new found peace about him, as he wanted to show us his casket and burial place he and Tina picked out. It was giving him reassurance and calmness as he was participating in the planning procedure. My friends, that’s hope that’s only found in Jesus. It’s also the answer to many prayers for James. At one of our visists John, my husband leaned in as James asked him a question. “Will you be a pallbearer for me?” It caught John by complete surprise and he replied, “James, I’d be honored.” This brought tears to my eyes. James is currently on hospice care. As his daughter in law so beautifully wrote,“As his time here with us on earth comes to an end, we are rejoicing that he will soon be healed with God in Heaven.” Tina, James Christopher, Rachel, Nicholas, Elsie Mae and Jerod have the hope in the Lord as they stay close by his side taking in every minute until his last. I wanted to interview James for his own personal story of hope, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I’m thankful for the times we were able to sit down and visit, eat a great meal and share our cancer concerns, favorite Bible verses, his love for his wonderful family, LSU and the Dallas Cowboys and what really matters in this life, the goodness of God.

Shortly after writing this Jesus called James home. He went to sleep in the loving arms of his wife and woke up in the arms of his loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

His story of hope didn’t end here; it’s just beginning in heaven. Oh, the stories he will tell. His family continues to hear amazing stories about James’s genuine love for others. God is close to the broken hearted. They’re grounded in faith, loved by many and they know where their hope comes from.