On December 31, 2008 I was informed of the sudden death of a long-time friend (from our church) while returning from his granddaughter’s wedding, with his wife, his grandson and his grandson’s fiancé. The SUV they were riding in was hit by a drunken driver and my friend Don was killed instantly. Soon after, I was also informed of the death of long time friend and the first senior pastor I worked with, Larry Mather. He had a huge impact upon my life while I was in college. He taught me a great deal about ministry by allowing me to spread my wings and then guiding me to a safe landing.
These were sobering bits of news, especially because of the day they were received. It was the same day my own father died, 28 years earlier. Dad was 49; Don and Pastor were 77. (If my father had lived, he would have been 77 this year.) None of them were old enough or unhealthy enough to say it was “time.” But it was.
My father lived every day as though it could be his last. I think he could honestly say when he died that he had no regrets, especially for the last five years of his life. They were the best years of his marriage, best years of his ministry and certainly the best years with his sons not to mention the birth of his first grandchild.
My friend Don also lived life to the fullest. He loved his wife, loved his kids and adored his grandkids. He was a pretty good golfer too! I’m pretty confidant he went out with no regrets. Both men are in the presence of God. I know Pastor went out being able to say, “It is finished” and was then met with a resounding, “Well done……….”
The lives of these three men cause me to want to live each day without regrets. I don’t want to take a chance on not telling someone that I love them, or that I appreciate them. And I don’t want to take a chance on not spending time with my wife or my sons. I don’t want to “half do” the work God has called me to do in case I go out as unexpectedly as these three men did. When my life on earth ends, I want to hear, “well done…….” I want to go out, whenever that may be, without any regrets. I want to be able to lay my head on a pillow and know that if I don’t wake up, it will be okay.
What a way to live!
3 comments:
I was watching a video the other day when one of the speakers made this great statement: "You can't really live until you've dealt with the death question."
Because we have settled the death issue, as Christians, it frees us to live this life in full freedom knowing that the "worst" that can happen will actually just lead to the "best" thing that could happen.
Thanks for sharing, Don!
If you notice, the title of your previous blog was "Finish Well"...You, of course, did not know what was going to transpire in those few days between posting your blog and the deaths of your friends, but God did, and though Don and Larry did not see your blog, they did exactly as you talked about - they finished well.
Great blog! I saw the statement recently, "live every day like it was your last!" Relationships are so important, but we sometimes take for granted. I heard another person talk about that whenever he has been around someone on their death bed, he never hears them say things like, "I wished I would have spent more hours at the office or I wish I would have worked more." Most people only regret not having spent more time with the ones they love and letting them know how much they love them. All excellent thoughts! Keep up the blogging.
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