This week God welcomed a warrior home. D.j. Ford is whole now, and with the Lord he loves. I am so thankful for the gift of DJ in my life. I am thankful to his family for always making me feel like family. I thank his precious mother, whom he adored, for choosing life for my friend so that thousands could know the loyalty and love of her son. I am thankful to DJ for giving me the honor of being his “sister.” And am thankful to God for the memories of IMO’s pizza parties and diet Pepsi with DJ.
I am a national commentator and a talk show host. With that comes tumult, and a true hesitation to ever trust. DJ was my friend before all of that happened in my life, so he was one of my only true confidants. He knew me better than 99% of people will ever know me, and he gave me the gift of having someone I could always trust with my deepest secrets, hopes, joys and fears. I know that every one of them went to Heaven with him, because that is who he was.
Every time I had a joy to share, a burden to bear, DJ was on it. When my son with Down Syndrome was in the burn unit at Children’s Hospital, DJ stayed up texting me all night long as I rode from Alabama where I was hosting the PM Drive show to STL to be with Samuel. I never had a crisis that DJ didn’t walk me through. I never had a burden to bear alone as long as DJ was on this earth. It will be lonely without my “Deej.”
He followed my show from StL, to Bama, to Cali and was always a loyal listener, caller, viewer, and friend. He posted my work everywhere, he helped produce my show, he encouraged, tweeted, promoted, and held me accountable. He gave me my favorite quote by GK Chesterton: “He is a very shallow critic who cannot see the eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative.”
Each time I have posted about DJ on Facebook, I get hundreds of likes and comments. As one of our friends said in my most recent post about DJ, “It feels empty on the feed.” While that only makes sense to those of you who use Facebook or Twitter as an epicenter, you should all know that DJ had national prominence on social media, and an audience of thousands. He was in our most recent book that I co-authored with PolitiChicks Director, Ann Marie Murrell and movie star, Morgan Brittany. He was loved by more people across this country than you will ever know.
I remember one time he got mad at me (he did that now and then:) because I joked online that if he were a dog, he would be a French Bulldog. Now it so-happened that Frenchies are not only my favorite dog (I own one named Gipper), but also a very cool dog. I think DJ was envisioning a French Poodle, though. And for political reasons, France is not DJ’s favorite country, either. But I meant it as the highest compliment. He was quite angry and gave me the silent treatment for a couple of weeks. Then he took one of those online tests called “What kind of dog are you?” Turns out, he has the nobility, loyalty, and fighting spirit of a Frenchie, just as I affectionately had told him before. He apologized profusely and wore his title proudly. I loved how he was so quick to forgive and love.
The best way we can honor DJ, and I am sure of this, is to engage civically for freedom. DJ didn’t let limitations hold him back from activism, and he didn’t let political correctness keep him from telling the Truth as he saw it. In the end, is there a higher calling?
I know that if you honored him by engaging politically, and on social media, that would be the best testimony you could give of his life. He loved guns, God, and freedom, and he wanted the fight for freedom to be his legacy. I challenge you with that. And it will be an honor, every day for the rest of my life, to honor DJ’s memory with a tireless, authentic, engaged “rebel” activism that my friend, DJ would be proud of.
I can’t wait to see you in Glory! Until then, Deej.
