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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
Like Jesus urged his followers to do, Dolly Parton loved her neighbors.
But what about loving her enemies, another biblical commandment?
I’m guessing the entertainment icon, whose death Tuesday at age 80 sent shockwaves around the world, found that more difficult to do.
Why?
“The thing about Dolly was that she seemed to have no enemies,” The Dispatch’s Michael Reneau wrote in a tribute headlined “Dolly Was a Real One.” “Even if you didn’t quite get her, it was impossible not to like her.”
In his New York Times obituary of Parton, Bill Friskics-Warren described the country music queen as “quintessentially, a uniter of people.” The writer referenced a 2019 Times story that featured this headline: “Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton.”
Since Bryan Seaver, Parton’s nephew and head of security, revealed the news that she “is in the arms of Jesus,” I’ve joined countless millions of fans in reflecting on her life, her legacy — and yes, her faith.
I’ve found myself listening to songs such as “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” which Parton performed with her old friend Kenny Rogers, who died in 2020 at 81.
In the wake of Parton’s passing, these lyrics require a tissue:
When Saint Peter opens the gate
And you come walking in
I’ll be there just waiting for you
‘Cause you can’t make old friends
Equally poignant is “When I Get Where I’m Going,” Parton’s duet with Brad Paisley:
Yeah, when I get where I’m goin’
There’ll be only happy tears
I’ll shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I’ll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I’m goin’
Don’t cry for me down here
We’ll try not to cry, Dolly.
Well, not too much anyway.
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Photo via DollyParton.com
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 