An After Eden Cartoon in Memory of a Friend

In early July last year my family and I were driving back from Washington DC when a call came to some friends who were with us that a coworker of ours at the Creation Museum, Dave Sheppard had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Just to be diagnosed with cancer is bad enough, but pancreatic cancer is a whole other level of bad. 

To make a very long eight month story short, Dave went home to be with the Lord after a battle of surgeries, treatments, many prayers and tears. The last time I saw Dave, he was sitting in the board room of the Answers in Genesis offices in a meeting. Just two or three weeks later we were saying goodbye to him at his funeral. Such a sad loss of a man that was a truly a servant. You can read more about Dave in this tribute shared on Ken Ham's blog. Tribute to a Sheppard.

Included in this tribute is a cartoon that I produced two days after Dave died. A cartoon? Yes, a cartoon, that doesn't mock, make fun, jest or joke, but was made to honor the memory of our dear friend David Sheppard and it also honors his Savior, Jesus Christ. I was very honored as well when Pam, Dave's widow, said she liked the cartoons and asked me for some copies to display at the funeral. Many of Dave's friends and family were so pleased by the cartoon as well and went out of their way to let me know. I appreciate their kind words so very much. Thank you all.

On Friday, February 8, 2013 the After Eden cartoon mentioned above was due. I knew I wanted to memorialize Dave with it, but the struggle was HOW to do that? The death of a person you and many around you knew is a very sensitive thing. An idea had come to my mind, but this one wasn't the kind of idea that hits and I know exactly where I'm going before I draw even one line. It was a general sense of direction that could be refined into many different cartoon possibilities. And to make this task even more difficult, time was running out, so I started drawing. The first drawing was a rough sketch that showed Dave talking with a young boy at the Creation Museum. With that much to go on I jumped into the final art. The important element was Dave's likeness. After all, if the man in the cartoon didn't look like Dave, the cartoon wouldn't work. It would be nice to say that the likeness came on the first try, but it didn't. I looked at many photos and drew many versions of his face before the right one came out of the pencil. Time was still ticking away. What was this cartoon going to be? Will this general idea really work out or am I going to have to ditch it and go with a repeat After Eden cartoon? By the way, this has happened before. Coming up with good ideas is hard work! 

Somewhere in my desperation, this cartoon turned into a lengthy prayer to God with me pleading for concrete and specific details while the clock kept ticking away. At 4:55PM the art was finally finished, but the captions I had were at best, incomplete ideas. The cartoon was due at 5:00! "Lord, PLEASE HELP ME!" And then one more caption came with about 2-3 minutes left. Even as I typed the words into the cartoon I hoped this was it, that these words would put a bit if a twist on the sad loss and inject a smile of hope. The eternal hope that all Christians have when Christian brothers and sisters die.  The hope that these losses are temporary because of the shed blood, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dave had put his faith and trust in Christ to be his Savior and that is the reason we know we will see Dave again. We grieve and miss our friend, but we'll spend an eternity with him after missing him for a few years here on earth. Praise the Lord!

In memory of Dave Sheppard and to celebrate the hope we have to see him again, I've posted this song video by my friends, Legacy Five. As you listen, follow along with the lyrics below and think about how great it will be to say "hello" after this sad "goodbye".

Hello After Goodbye

Words and lyrics by JIm Brady

We dress in black.
We say, “Goodbye.”
How our hearts break, and oh how we cry.
Yet though we grieve, we still have hope
Cause for all hearts of faith we trust and know:

There is a “Hello” after “Goodbye.”
A blessed reunion promised in time:
We will be with them for longer than we were without, no doubt.
No more tears in our eyes in that beautiful wonderful “Hello” after “Goodbye.”

Next time we see them we’ll never more know the sorrow and pain of letting go.
We’re with them forever, life without end, in that most blessed sweet moment when:

There is a “Hello” after “Goodbye.”
A blessed reunion promised in time:
We will be with them for longer than we were without, no doubt.
No more tears in our eyes in that beautiful wonderful “Hello” after “Goodbye.”

We will see them again, be with them again,
laugh and talk like before, sing and worship forevermore.

There is a “Hello” after “Goodbye.”
A blessed reunion promised in time:
We will be with them for longer than we were without, no doubt.
No more tears in our eyes in that beautiful wonderful “Hello” after “Goodbye.”