TobyMac, wife share images from son's funeral in emotional Thanksgiving message
Grammy Award-winning artist TobyMac shared a a heartwarming Thanksgiving message with his fans on Sunday that was accompanied by photos from his son's funeral last month.
Truett Foster Mckeehan, 21, died unexpectedly at his home on Oct. 23.
“Such overwhelming love has surrounded us this last month. We still don’t quite know which end is up but we do KNOW, we are loved,” a message signed Toby and Amanda, his wife, read on the artist's Instagram page.
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TobyMac posted several photos from Truett’s funeral, including images showing family and friends walking to the burial ground, the pallbearers carrying his casket while wearing the same sweatshirt the 21-year-old wore before his death. Other images show the singer embracing his family and DC talk member Michael Tait.
“As we mourn our firstborn son, God has poured out His love on us through people. He has loved us through you ... your kind acts and words and prayers and thoughts and songs and poems and teachings and gifts and meals and time and expertise and travel have made death bearable. You have been God’s light to us in our darkest days. A comfort to our broken hearts,” the emotional post read as a thank you note to his supporters.
“We have experienced family at every layer and every turn. From the closest to those who have loved from a distance, thank you, thank you a thousand times over. We are grateful for your gentle and compassionate hearts. It is something we will never forget. Community as it should be ... the body at its best,” TobyMac added. “How God must be pleased!”
The 55-year-old and his wife first addressed their son’s passing online two days after he died. In their first post following the tragedy, they declared what they believe about God. A Thanksgiving post, followed.
“We’ve been encouraging ourselves to stand on this: The place of death is actually where all that we believe is most significant. That God has the power to do what He promised, defeat death and give life to anyone who believes. So from the valley of the shadow of death we pray a flood of thankfulness will rise this week. Thankfulness to a kind God who is not afraid. The Father of the Heavenly lights ... who shines most beautifully in the darkness, and gives us everything we need,” he concluded.
The cause of the 21-year-old's death has not yet been released. What is known is that on Oct. 23, the Nashville Fire Department responded to an emergency call to his home for a person suffering cardiac arrest.
"Truett did pass away at home in the Nashville area sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning," a representative said in a statement to USA Today last month in response to the aspiring rapper's unexpected death.
Upon hearing the tragic news, TobyMac, who was on tour in Canada, flew back home to Franklin, Tennessee, to be with his wife and four other children.
Many artists in the Christian music industry responded to TobyMac’s recent Thanksgiving message with further support for him and his family.
Award-winning singer Danny Gokey wrote, “Love you Toby, Amanda and family. You guys are in our hearts and prayers constantly!!”
“@TobyMac you and your family are in our prayers! You’re an encourager and we thank God for you and your family,” wrote David A.R. White, the filmmaker of “God’s Not Dead.”
