Love To Give

Happy New Year, 2021! Undoubtedly, this has been the kind of year the world hopes is never to be repeated. It's been a terrific year to remind ourselves of one great Biblical truth- HE is in control. New Year's Eve was a quiet one for me with one exception. The fireworks were louder last night than I can ever remember. I've never been in a war zone but the explosions in the area were the kind that reverberated. In spite of the noise, I slept soundly, waking several times from BOOMS after I thought even the most hardcore revelers had drifted off to sleep.

I can't break myself of the habit of getting up early even when school is out for Christmas break. So at 5:15 AM on the first day of the new year, I rolled out of bed, weighed myself, downed a glass of water and a cup of cold coffee, and turned on my laptop. I don't remember exactly how but I clicked on one of the groups  I belong to, the alumni page from my York, Nebraska high school. There was the kind of post that you dread seeing, that of the announcement of a death. The deceased was a guy born in my hometown, a classmate of mine from eighth grade through graduation. We weren't close but we were friendly. I found his obituary listed on the website of a funeral home located in another small town that was in our prep athletic conference. As is sadly the case, I learned more about him from the mortuary synopsis than in life. I found out his mother's maiden name and that he loved playing bingo. Until this morning, I didn't know he had married one of our classmates and they stayed married until her passing, no small feat in this culture. I discovered their union produced two daughters and where he worked. There was also a picture posted- due to the source of the information, I recognized him. I'm pretty sure our paths never crossed after that Sunday in May when we crossed the stage at the YHS track and were handed our diplomas. That's what happens when you move away.

There was one line in the obituary which I thought was absolutely wonderful. The unnamed author of the piece included these words of tribute:
"He didn’t have much, but he sure had a lot of love to give!"
I've never really thought much about my obituary but I hope someone would say something like that about me. You see, my classmate, from what was stated, did not have what the world would consider a glamorous career. He never got rich but he mattered- the comments on the alumni page confirmed that. We the living too often judge the departed by the cars they drove or their address, by their university degrees or their perceived influence on this revolving ball of sod. We get it wrong. I've used a quote before that goes something like this:
"The best thing you can say about Lazarus is that when he died, Jesus wept."
That's an amazing point. Someday, someone will write about our lives in several short paragraphs that will be printed in a newspaper and published on the Internet. For all of us, there will be an obituary down here below and the Book of Life above. Our prayer should constantly be that the two match up.

Applicable quote of the day:
The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.
Vincent van Gogh

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org