Helen Strickland Shares Her Last Text With Late Husband Craig Strickland

Country singer Craig Strickland was found dead on Jan. 4, 2016 after going missing on a hunting [...]

By PopCulture.com Staff

Country singer Craig Strickland was found dead on Jan. 4, 2016 after going missing on a hunting trip in late December, and his widow, Helen Strickland, has been honoring his memory ever since. Craig was on the trip with his friend, Chase Morland, who was also found dead, and his dog, Sam, who survived.

On the one-year anniversary of the day her husband was found, Helen took to Instagram to share the last text messages the pair had sent to each other, writing how thankful she was for her husband's words.

A year ago today, the search for my husband @backroadcraig concluded. I remember receiving these last texts from him before talking for the last time on the phone-I'm so thankful God gave me the blessing of getting to say and hear the words "I love you" to/from him just moments before he and Chase got in their 10ft flat bottom boat. It was truly such a blessing the day we found Craig. We were finally able to find some kind of peace knowing he was with his Heavenly Father. God showed us then, and continues to show us, that He takes care of his children. While the pain is great that we carry, our Lord will carry the burden if we choose to let Him. A year later, I can testify to God's goodness and the gift of love that He pours out to those in pain. Sometimes His gifts of love aren't what we want or expect-for example, our savior Jesus Christ coming as a baby-but in the end, God's way is always better than what we want for ourselves. God is good, and His ways are perfect- I trust that. Losing Craig was not what any of us desired; but as @strickark told me - when we get sad, we can think of all the ways God will bless others through Craig's story. What a wonderful and humbling reminder that God has chosen Craig's family to help others. At the closing of this year, I am thankful for God's gift of life. And one day, I will be so excited to sit with Craig and our Father in heaven, as we tell Craig about all the opportunities his family had to share the love of Christ with hurting people all over the world because of his testimony. What a gift of love that will be❤ *Please visit the Craig Strickland Foundation homepage to donate to scholarships established in honor of Craig; and be looking for the launch of my new website, which will be the home for my blog/vlog, as well as the place to contact/hire me for speaking engagements. www.craigstricklandfoundation.org

A photo posted by Helen Wisner Strickland (@helenelizabethstrickland) on

"I remember receiving these last texts from him before talking for the last time on the phone — I'm so thankful God gave me the blessing of getting to say and hear the words 'I love you' to/from him just moments before he and Chase got in their 10ft flat bottom boat,'" Helen began. "It was truly such a blessing the day we found Craig. We were finally able to find some kind of peace knowing he was with his Heavenly Father."

The accompanying photo included Helen's last texts from her husband, which she received after sending him a photo of herself cuddling with Sam, which Craig called "precious."

In her caption, she added that she is relying on her faith to help her through the pain of her loss.

"Losing Craig was not what any of us desired; but as @strickark [Craig's father, Randy Strickland] told me — when we get sad, we can think of all the ways God will bless others through Craig's story," she wrote. "What a wonderful and humbling reminder that God has chosen Craig's family to help others ... And one day, I will be so excited to sit with Craig and our Father in heaven, as we tell Craig about all the opportunities his family had to share the love of Christ with hurting people all over the world because of his testimony. What a gift of love that will be."

Originally posted on Womanista.com.

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