Jonathan Paul Ayers was born on February 11, 1981, to John and Abigail Ayers, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia. The little dark-haired blue eyed baby, weighing 8 lbs 2.5oz, would woo the hearts of many in his short life.
Jonathan, through the years, never got into trouble; he always brought home good grades and would melt a teacher’s heart in a minute; he was a momma’s boy by nature. He was a Georgia Bulldogs lover and a fan of wrestling (especially Dusty Rhodes in the day). He was a baseball player, a Nintendo nut, a Doritos lover, and a Mountain Dew addict. In high school he never followed the crowd, because, you see, he was a leader not a follower. In high school he became president of the FFA his senior year and he was also vice-president of the State chapter of FFA. He could speak in front of thousands of people at the capital and not flinch. God was preparing him to lead even then. Jonathan had plans for his life: when he graduated he was going to go to Gainesville College and then on to the University of Georgia to major in an agriculture related field.
God soon changed those plans. During this time, Jonathan was living with our dad because our parents had divorced after 21 years of marriage. Jonathan turned to Good News Baptist Church and Austin Kelly for guidance, and he found much more. While spending time at Good News, Jonathan got closer to God then he had ever been. The path that Jonathan had chosen for himself was now God’s path. At the age of 19, Jonathan surrendered his calling to preach God’s word. He was ordained at Good News. Jonathan stayed at Good News for a while helping with the youth there, and then he found his way to Shoal Creek Baptist Church. After being there for several years, he met his wife Abby on a blind date. Abby was from Gainesville, GA, so when they were to be married in May ‘05 they moved back to Gainesville. Jonathan became the youth pastor at Harmony Hall Baptist Church in Gainesville. Jonathan was great with the youth; however, having his own church was his passion. After a year or so in Gainesville, and after being a youth pastor at Baldwin Baptist Church in Baldwin, GA, Jonathan once again found his way back to Shoal Creek.
In May of 2009, Abby and Jonathan found out that they were expecting their first child. In July 2009, after many prayers, Jonathan and Abby made their first and only mission trip to Africa. Jonathan was so excited about this trip, and when he returned he was equally excited about the souls that he saw being saved while they were there. I was blessed to hear him preach the Sunday before he died. He preached that Sunday about the paths that he had chosen, and the paths that God had made for him. He also spoke on how sometimes we don’t like the paths that God has chosen, but we have to obey God and follow that path. I spoke with him on the phone that Sunday night, and I am so thankful for that conversation. God knew that it would be our last on this earth. The last thing that we said before we hung up was, “I love you, Sis” and “I love you too, Brother.”
Each and every one of us lives such hectic lives and we think that our loved ones will be there tomorrow or next week. Lesson learned that day: never take for granted your family and friends. Tell them each and every one that you love them, because today may be your last. I would have never guessed in my life that something like this would happen to our family. We have never experienced any death except my Grandfather and one uncle. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to my family, but it has and it can. I have said many times over that Jonathan had a special relationship with everyone he touched. In our family’s life, he was the one you turned to for spiritual guidance, he was the one who would crack you up with his jokes, he was the one who would pray for you when you were sick, and he was the one that would stay overnight with you when you had surgery. Jonathan would give everything he had to help someone in need. God was always working through him. He was a friend to all, a wonderful husband, an awesome brother, and a perfect son. He was, and still is, adored by his niece Ashlyn and his nephew Austin. He loved these two children so much. He often told me that he couldn’t wait to be a dad. His direct quote would always be, “Sis, can you believe I am going to be a stinking dad?!” Now, because of the actions of careless men, he won’t get to be that dad. He would have been a good one!
As much as he loved Abby and his entire family, he had one love throughout his life, and that was God. He served Him with every fiber of his being, even at a young age. I can remember when the ladies at our small church would tell my mom that Jonathan was going to be a preacher one day; little did we know. I always knew God had something wonderful planned for my brother. We will miss Jonathan every day until we see his sweet face again. We will try our best to get through birthdays and holidays because Jonathan was such a huge part of our lives. And at times we do ask God why, but at the end of the day we will give God the glory. Even though Jonathan is no longer here, we know that he is still working in the hearts of many. See friends, Jonathan’s one wish in this life was to see each of us in the next life. How sweet it would be to know God, and know that God saved and took this young man so that he would be a witness to each of us even after death! How powerful is that?!?
On Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at around 3:00 PM my sister-in-law called me and said that Jonathan had been in a wreck. My heart stopped, but Abby said that she had talked to him though she didn’t know how bad it was. She did not know at that time that he had been shot. I called my mom and dad and told them. On the way to Toccoa, I called Abby’s phone and a lady that she worked with at Stephens County high school answered the phone. I told her who I was, and she informed me that my brother had been shot. My first words were, “Who would shoot Jonathan?”
When we got to Stephens County Hospital, he was already in surgery. It was heartwarming to feel the love and support as people filled the waiting room. The room was so full that people had to stand out in the hall. After what seemed like forever, he came out of surgery and we were told by one of the nurses that he was very critical. Little did we know exactly how bad he was or even exactly what had happened? When we were called to come up to ICU, we walked through the doors and in to a little room at the end of a hall. I was expecting to see him hooked up to machines, but the room was empty. A nurse walked in a shut the door and told us that they were doing CPR on him, and that the only thing we could do at that moment was to pray because it wasn’t good. I sat there in that room listening to my mom cry, and my dad hit his knees next to me and begged God to not take his son. Abby lay on a bed in the room; laying there she cried, begged, and pleaded for God not to take Jonathan. All I could do was sit there. I already knew in my heart he was gone. There was nothing anyone could do. I remember my aunt was standing there and I told her, “I just have to get out of this room.” I went to the ICU waiting room because I didn’t want to hear those words - the words that were soon coming. I remember just sitting there not knowing whether to throw up or scream. I heard someone crying down the hall and I knew it was over. God had taken my best friend, my baby brother! The rest of the night was a blur; friends gathered around us, family filled the ICU halls and the waiting rooms below, cops were there in their suits like vultures waiting for their prey, and our perfect life was over.
Please continue to lift our family and church family up in prayer.
Rebecca Ayers Floyd
