Pastor sings ‘I Won’t Complain’ after 10-y-o daughter killed in crash
An Alabama pastor whose 10-year-old daughter was killed in a grisly crash last Friday chose to work through his pain at the pulpit Sunday with a soul-stirring rendition of “I Won’t Complain.”
According to WBRC, Ramiah Leonard died at 8:15 a.m. at Regional Medical Center after being involved in a two-car crash on Alabama 21.
Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown, said Ramiah's mother, Rasheda S. Leonard, was driving north when she turned the 2002 Lexus she was driving left at an intersection near the 2200 block of Alabama 21 and a southbound Jeep hit the passenger side of the car.
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Since his daughter’s death, Eugene Leonard Jr., who is the senior pastor at the Life Center Church in Anniston, has remained stoic in his musings on social media.
“Romans 8:28 (TPT). So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. My Heartbeat is now My Angel!” he shared on his Facebook page on Saturday.
“My humanity wants to be mad at God and question God. Do I understand it? No!!! Does it hurt??? It hurts like HELL! However, God allowed me to borrow an angel for 10 years. I spent 10 years with a beautiful, smart, energetic, God-loving princess that God even gave us the privilege of naming Ramiah Elizabeth Leonard. He gave me a privilege that some never even get to obtain in their lifetime. If I don’t question God when He blesses me as to why He blesses me; then I should not have the audacity to question Him when He takes something that belonged to Him anyway,” he continued in another post.
“I’m not trying to be spiritual but I want to help someone who might go through some type of loss. I can’t just bless God at all times as long as it’s a blessing. My daughters shift wasn’t a curse but a blessing for her. And, for that I STILL WILL BLESS GOD AT ALL TIMES; and HIS PRAISE SHALL CONTINUALLY BE IN MY MOUTH.”
When he appeared at his pulpit to preach on Sunday, he told his congregation that he was drawing strength from God in his tragedy.
“I believe that the Lord has everything under control. I’m strong not because I’m strong, I’m strong because I’ve become weak. The Bible says I find strength when I’m weak, then is He strong. So if you wanna know how I’m making it it’s because I became weak so that God can be strong in me,” he said.
He then dived into his rendition of “I Won’t Complain” after preparing the church for a message from I Peter 5.
“I’ve had some good days. I’ve had some hills to climb. I’ve had some weary days and some sleepless nights. But when I look around and I think things over, all of my good days outweigh my bad days and I won’t complain,” he sang.
