A tribute to Phil Robertson
Phil Robertson often said in his last years that "the resurrection is looming large." He passed away in 2025. Phil may have started his adult life as an unruly soul but became an incredible evangelist for our Savior, Jesus Christ. In May of 2022, I faced the darkest days of my life. Sometimes a person feels totally alone, even when they have outstanding family and friends. We often don’t want to be a burden or dark cloud, so, worse than being alone, we smile to hide the pain. Things had progressively gotten worse, and I cried out to God for help. I’ll share the full testimony someday, but long story short, God answered in a major way. I was so grateful that I spent several hours a day in prayer and only wanted to surround myself with things that glorify God. After a couple of weeks, I found myself wanting something beyond worship playlists and The Chosen series. The series Duck Dynasty filled this void. It was lighthearted fun that provided a “safe” place for me to escape when I had some downtime. I listen to the Robertsons’ Unashamed podcast regularly (even though I believe their demographic is usually 16- to 26-year-old boys—lol). The dynamics of their family also felt familiar. We honor our parents, live in close proximity, steward the land, challenge and hang out with our siblings, and enjoy fantastic homemade dinners together whenever possible.
I heard that Jase Robertson was going to be in our town and rushed to get this piece done, working on it for somewhere around 25 hours over three days prior to his visit. I completed it in acrylic so that the paint would be dry for handling. Side note: This painting was completed by working with only the primary colors and white. I mixed each color from red, blue, yellow, and white tubes of paint. My intention was to have him sign the corner and keep it on my wall. Secretly, if I’m honest, I wanted to watch his expression, and if I felt that he would like the painting, I wanted to offer it to him. I thought he could take it immediately or I could make arrangements to send it to Louisiana. Hunt Farms made a donation to the event he was appearing at, so I knew that I could attend the event. What I didn’t know is that they were selling a VIP meet-and-greet experience as an additional fundraiser. Ugh. I didn’t want to cut in front of individuals who had paid to speak with Jase, but I was hoping for a brief moment to offer the painting. When I showed a woman at the VIP entrance, she said, “Oh wow, let me see it.” She took the painting. My brother and I waited to see if we might be waved in for a moment. A few minutes passed, and the woman came back saying that she gave the painting to Jase’s assistant and basically hinted that we needed to return to the main event. I decided to let it go without dialogue. We all need to pick our battles, and I tend to save my “I’m not going to be told ‘No’” moments for times such as a family member in the hospital when it’s outside of visiting hours. What can I say? Those are times to bend the rules and put your foot down. Not to see a celebrity.
My brother and I returned to the main dinner. We met some delightful people at our table. Some friends with the closest seats possible decided to leave, and my brother sat his wife, Katie, and me up front. I ended up sitting immediately in front of the podium for Jase’s talk that evening. He was the same down-to-earth man that I listen to weekly on the podcast. A bonus for the evening was that my brother, who is a trained auctioneer, auctioned five desserts, raising several thousand dollars benefitting a local Christian school.
