Bonnie Stephens of Seadrift passed away on April 13, 2022, with her loving family surrounding her. She is preceded in death by her husband Butch Stephens. She is survived by her mother, Sandra McLester; her amazing sister Diane Mooney and brother-in-law Von Mooney, who is a kind man; her twin sister who is so special to her, Connie, you will always be in my heart, brother-in-law Gary Low, who is a generous loving man; her brother Steven Helms; her nieces and nephews, her great nieces and nephews who have given her joy and love. She is also survived by her husband’s four beautiful daughters and their spouses; and ten wonderful grandchildren.

Bonnie loved her family, the Dallas Cowboys, and animals. Her family will hold a private memorial at a later date. Bonnie’s wish was to encourage donations to the animal shelter of your choice. She was loved by so many in her life. May she rest in comfort and peace.

Bonnie’s family would like to give special appreciation, thanks, and blessings to Pastor Cody, Hospice of South Texas, the Seadrift Angels, and the many friends who supported Bonnie through prayers and heartfelt wishes.

*Obituary written by Bonnie as she prepared for her eternal life.

Some of Colette’s dearest friends have organized a pot-luck get-together for Saturday, May 21. Around 1:30 we will meet at the Texas Gulf RV Park BBQ Pavilion for brisket, sausage and sides provided by Colette’s friends and loved ones attending (If you bring a covered dish, that’s great. If you don’t, it’s no biggie!) She was such a special person and is greatly missed by those of us who remain here. This is an opportunity for us to honor her memory and share memories, stories, and thoughts of Colette with each other.

Leonard Dayton O’Briant, 86, of Seadrift passed away Tuesday April 3, 2022. He was born Sept. 19, 1935, to the late William Leonard O’Briant and Mary Ann Ezell.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Pendergrass, of Seadrift; daughter, Kathryn Esch, of Seadrift; sister, Joyce Marie Gibbs, of Seadrift; and brother Murlyn O’Briant, of Seadrift. He is also survived by grandchildren: Steven Wayne O’Briant, Kelly Lynn Proffitt, Scott Lee Esch and Ashley Lloyd; and 13 great- grandchildren and one great, great-grandchild.

His was preceded in death by his parents; son, Leonard Daniel O’Briant; sister, Billie Woodridge; and brother, Gable O’Briant.

Services will be held at a later date.

Under the direction of Angel Lucy’s Funeral Home Port Lavaca. 361-552-2300.

I have lived long enough to know what love looks like and when someone is simply faking it! That is why, when one reads Scripture about Joseph’s life, we are a bit confused. The Bible says that “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” What? God’s steadfast love helped Joseph gain favor in prison?

I am sorry, but I am thrilled that God never talked about His unfailing love coming my way while I was incarcerated! I have told many people that I would not mind doing jail ministry as long as I did it from the outside! Joseph was hatefully sold into slavery by his brothers and unjustly imprisoned by a lying woman, who happened to be his master’s wife. I know that all God’s leadings are loving and faithful for His covenant keepers, but I do not always understand God’s covenant of loving humanity!

Now, living thousands of years post-Genesis, where the story of Joseph is written, I think I can get a bird’s eye view of how God used Joseph’s slavery to save many people’s lives. His father and brothers and their families would have died from starvation had Joseph not been Prime Minister of Egypt. Their lands suffered such a grievous drought that going to the enemies’ land to buy grain was their only option to sustain their lives. So I see the truth in Joseph’s statement to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

But Joseph did not have the advantage of a bird’s-eye view from this many years past the setting from his “barred hotel room”. If we only looked at a frozen frame of our lives, can we see God’s steadfast love during our darkest hours? The answer all depends on who is at the center of our individual universe.

When I see myself as the biggest force in my universe, then my thoughts are what matters most! All of the sudden, it is not God working in me out of the abundance of His grace, but me giving my life for God out of the abundance of my self-sacrifice. With that attitude, then of course, this God should respond to my service with the sort of gratefulness I deserve, which would be making my life as easy and full of blessings as possible? Right?

But, when God is the biggest force, if it is in Him that we live, move, and have our being, if all things exist because of Him, through Him, and for Him, then He gets to do what He wants! And while this fact would be terrifying were it said of any other diety, this God is the One Who is good and does good – Who not only shows love, but Who is the very definition of Love! He is the Almighty Creator Who humbled Himself to become like His creation, the Holy King Who uses His power to lift the humble and helpless, and the suffering Savior Who gave His life for a rebellious people.

As we look back at the varied pathways of our lives, what we see will depend on our view of God. Joseph recognized God as the reigning King of he universe, and that is why he emerged from his jail cell not as a bitter atheist, but as a humble, faithful servant. He would see his brothers, who greatly mistreated him, as agents of God’s plan for his life!

Not many of us have gone to jail for doing only what is right in America, but around the world, there are many who have been removed from their personal freedoms simply because they made someone mad! I dare not speak for those who have been incarcerated, because I know that most have the same story, “I am totally innocent”! But, if I find myself in that small, uncomfortable place in a county lockup, I hope my thoughts will go to the One who went to the Cross for me! He was totally innocent, yet He gave His life for my wrongdoings!

When we recognize God as the King of the universe Who graciously condescended to His creation, we will realize that there has never been a dip in His love or a moment He has not been there for us. His Fatherly love has helped us through our darkest days and our most faithless hours.

This evening is one of those that can literally make you marvel, never mind your age, at how fast life can change…it’s like a sequel to a film or a video game…it’s now the next chapter, the rules may change a bit, roles as well, and no matter if the changes are good or bad you have no choice but to acknowledge them…face them, as there an inevitable fact, they just…are.

I’m on a porch in Tennessee, and although there are both things I love and hate about the area (Good: Weather, friendly people. Bad: Personal situations, and hills, hills, hills.), I will miss this porch, miss sitting out here, miss seeing the frogs next month, and the abundance of fireflies that I never even saw in Illinois as a boy where there used to be plenty every Summer to be caught and chased after.

I suppose every place is like that and I’ll be just as happy about some things back at ‘home’ too, there is always something somewhere, like returning to the Chicago area. I need a pizza those first couple weeks because they are as great up there as fresh seafood is in the gulf, it’s just different.

It is one the most common features of Human habitations. but also the first feature a human from that habitat take for granted as there is such abundance.

But that is also the virtue of moving around somewhat in your life, even if you have no money but somehow still see more of the Earth than those who may have more disposable income than you do.

And now, by the magic of newspaper print, I am on a different porch in Illinois some five hundred miles away…and it feels…different.

One striking thing in being back is the denseness of traffic, both in cats and people traffic, for the first time I really feel maybe there are too many people for my real liking.

That may seem minor, but to some out there reading this I’m sure they will know exactly what I’m talking about.

It also seems more humid and to my surprise much like when I came back ten years ago it was hotter in Chicago than it was in Texas/Tennessee…as Johnny Carson used to say: “Wild, wild, stuff.”

Unintentionally, I created a personal social experiment to note how I felt and feel after a big move or change and thankfully I can report that all apprehensions are not as bad as they appear and yes, that little snags in the river making turbulence but that too is more about balance than troubles.

If anything is really displacing it’s seeing old things in new spaces, especially as they are in reality, temporary, ‘hard landing’ spaces, seeing my two cats adjust, and trying to build from nothing.

As I have shown, it is not always as bad as it seems and it really does seem that the things that arise from the changes can be both positive or negative depending on how you take them.

Hopefully whenever we all do ‘take them’ we always grow from the experience.