John Schneider is an actor best known for his role as one of the stars of the hit show “The Dukes of Hazzard,” in which he played Beauregard “Bo” Duke. He is also, however, a faithful Christian who credits his faith in Christ for helping him get through the tragic passing of his wife, Alicia Schneider.
Mrs. Schneider died of breast cancer at the young age of just 53 in February of 2023. Mr. Schneider was understandably upset at the time of her passing, but he’s now crediting God and faith for helping him make it through that dark period.
As the time Mrs. Schneider passed, Mr. Schneider posted, on Instagram, “My beautiful Smile is pain free, living in her new body alongside Jesus. Please respect our privacy during this time of grief. Please do not ask any questions. If you have any pictures of us and our obvious love and adoration for each other, please post them below. Lastly… hug those you love tight and let them know how you feel. We always did.”
More recently, he appeared on Fox News and spoke about his faith and how it saved him by helping him see the bright future in the afterlife that awaited her, saying, “If it weren’t for my faith, if it weren’t for my belief, absolute belief that God is real. Heaven is real. The promise of God that Alicia and I will see each other again forever. If it weren’t for that, I think I would have jumped off a bridge.”
Continuing, he explained how he came by his faith in life after death, noting, “But I believe because my grandmother instilled it in me with one very brief conversation. I was about 8 years old, and she said, ‘Johnny, one of these days, I’m not going to be here anymore, but don’t worry, I’ll be with Jesus and you will see me again.‘”
He added, “My mother has passed away. Our belief was that as soon as she gets to heaven, she’ll see Johnny Michael again. So, this has been instilled in me for my whole life. But just that simply when you die, you will see those that you love again.”
Mr. Schneider next explained the other, somewhat darker way in which his faith kept him from committing suicide, suggesting that he believes he would not make it to Heaven were he to kill himself. He said, “That’s pretty simple. I’m pretty simple, so I take that at face value. So, when I tell people that, I believe immediately after my last breath here will be my first breath there. And it will be Alicia’s hand I’ll be holding. I look forward to that day. And I tell people, you know, I can’t wait to get there, but I will. I will wait. I also believe jumping off a bridge is a sin that would keep me from actually seeing Alicia again.”
Then he told people he understands the pit of despair because he was there, saying, “So, I won’t do that. I absolutely won’t do that. But I understand the level of grief, sadly, that people go through. So, they need this kind of encouragement. We need this kind of encouragement and assurance that it’s all real.”
Helping those currently struggling with their grief see the brighter future, he added, “I want people who are grieving to know that this is a temporary situation. Your love has been put on pause. Your love has not been stopped. Your love has not been discarded. It has been put on pause. Be patient. You’ll get there, and they will be waiting.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: By Jamie – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiecat/2721617713/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18608523
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