"Rick and Bubba's" Rick Burgess's family turned grief to glory for God after death
By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com AL.com
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series /series Aka Story Package gallery-preview /gallery-preview Aka Secondary Package Bronner Burgess had a room decorated in a Western theme, loved the book "Cowboy Small" and carried a Veggie Tales Larry Boy toy with him almost everywhere he went.
The death of Bronner Burgess, the youngest of five children, left an emotional hole in the hearts of thousands who knew him through his father, radio personality Rick Burgess of "The Rick and Bubba Show."
Bronner, just two and a half years old, drowned in a swimming pool at the family home on Jan. 19, 2008. His mother, Sherri, had taken Bronner outside to look at snow that had fallen that day. Bronner was fascinated by the snow. Sherri was in the house upstairs, getting ready for bed and finding Bronner's pajamas, as he played in a playroom downstairs. Bronner figured out how to unlock the lock on the door and went outside. Sherry thinks he wanted to see the snow again, but it was dark.
When she came downstairs, he was gone. She found him floating in the pool, rushed to get him, brought him into the house and tried to breathe air into his lungs. She was unable to revive him.
Rick was in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., speaking at a religious conference with Evangelist Scott Dawson. Rick flew back to Birmingham on a private airplane to meet the family at the hospital that night.
Nearly eight years later, talking about Bronner brings an aching sense of loss for his mother. "He was like a cookie right out of the oven – warm, cozy and good," Sherri said. "He brought us so much happiness."
His death was a staggering blow to family and friends and even those who had never met Bronner. "A lot of life went out of me for awhile," Sherri said. "We were all devastated."
But she has confronted the pain to tell the story of Bronner's life and the effect he had on her and others. She has written a book, "Bronner: A Journey to Understand," that will be released by New Hope Publishers on Jan. 19.
"I felt so compelled by God to do it," she said. "As God gave me answers to why, the answers weren't just for me." The family's Christian faith has helped them deal with the loss of Bronner, Sherri said.
"As we suffer – and we all suffer in this life – we trust God through it and use it for his glory," Sherri said. "Having Bronner in heaven put my thoughts toward Heaven. Not only am I separated from Bronner, I'm separated from God's presence. The true treasure in heaven is God himself. I don't think we realize how wonderful it's going to be in God's presence."
Rick Burgess spoke at his son's funeral and the powerful message of obedience to God in the face of tragedy has been viewed more than 600,000 times on YouTube.
"Rick's response was supernatural," Sherri said. "He was our rock for a long time. I was crushed. He brought a calmness, a peace, that none of us had, to help us all through it."
Rick Burgess described his response later. "I understood that God was in control," he said. "I knew where my son was."
Sherri Burgess said she was gradually able to turn her grief to glory for God. "It made me go higher, deeper and further with God than I ever had been before until I was separated from Bronner," she said.
"I felt God had blessed me," she said of her family life before Bronner's death. "I had never seen this side of God before. I knew it was from him. It made me afraid. I think it was a reverence and an awe. You realize you have no power over the situation. You see yourself in perspective with God. He alone can change the situation. When you are powerless, and crushed, you realize how fleeting life is. I felt powerless. He was powerful. Fear and grief are very similar emotions. They're so unsettling. We were created to live an eternal life. God is good and faithful through the darkest times. As we suffer – and we will all suffer in this life – we trust Him through it and it use it for his glory."