I was searching some family history on the internet. Often much family history can be learned from
obituary searches. One obituary got my
full attention. It read, “William H. Drees passed away unexpectedly
on Monday, December 31, 2018.” You better believe it was unexpected! I am William H. Drees! I tried to recall but I don’t really remember
what happened to me on December 31 but I think I would have remembered it if I had died! I hope I don’t need to explain that it was
not me. It was not even anyone related
to me. However, it got my attention for
several reasons.
There are not many people in the USA with the Drees surname and
I have been accustomed to being the only Drees in the phone book in most cities
where I have lived. I was the only Drees
who was an ordained minister in the entire Southern Baptist Convention for my
entire career. That and $4 will get you
a small (or tall) coffee at Starbucks. When
Cathy married me and became a Drees I told her we would usually be the only
Drees in town. However, our first
residence was in Wichita, KS and I grabbed the phone book to show her and was
shocked to see five Drees listings. One
was also William H. Drees. Cathy said, “We need to go to their house and meet the
other William H. Drees.” I cried out to her in a panicked voice, “Have you never watched The Twilight
Zone? If I go and knock on the door and then
I open the door from the other side and meet myself on the front porch, the
world as we know it may explode into infinity!”
For the sake of humanity I never met William H. Drees in Wichita.
Now I read where William H. Drees died in December, in Ohio
of all places. I have never been to Ohio…and
now I have a great excuse to never go…remember The Twilight Zone. One never can be too careful in such matters. Anyway, it was quite interesting to see an
obituary with my name. I recently joked
that I guess I am now at the age that any day when my obituary is not in the
paper is a good day. Now I gotta get
some new material.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a business
and self-help book written by Stephen Covey suggests “to begin at the end.” In other
words think of what you would like people to say about you at your funeral and then
live in such a way to make certain that it would be a great tribute. As one who has preached many funerals I understood
what he meant. There have been funerals
that literally were a breeze to prepare and preach as the person lived a life
truly worth celebrating. Then there have
been others when it was very difficult to find positive things to say. I am reminded of the pastor who stood before
the congregation struggling to find a positive word to say about a man whom all
knew to be a scoundrel and he finally let out a long sigh and proclaimed the
only positive truth he could muster, “Well,
his brother was worse!”
Cathy once asked me, “If
something happened, who would you want me to get to preach your funeral?” After checking to see if she had increased my
life insurance I gave it some thought and told her, “I’ll do it myself!” I
thought about a making a video where I would record myself rounding a bend in
the river in my kayak and paddling up to the camera. I would share my message and then close
saying, “Well it is time for me to move
on to see what is around the bend.” I would then que the music, ‘Going Home’
as I paddled out of sight. The video
would be placed in a safe deposit box until needed. As I was concluding my plans it seems as if I
heard the voice of God saying, “OK, smart
aleck, go ahead and finish it and just see how soon you may have to use it!” I think I got the point. I dropped the plans.
One day the William H. Drees in the obituary will indeed be
me. However, the best thing I can do
with this sacred gift of life God has given me is to make the most of each
precious moment. Steven Covey did have a
point. If you want good things to be
said of you in the end, you must live up to those complements now…every
day! No matter what the situation may be
at any moment people watch and remember how we behave. And that is how we are remembered.
Not long ago a friend asked me to preach for their church
homecoming/anniversary celebration. I appreciated
the opportunity and privilege of being asked to speak on such a special
day. I had never been to that particular
church so I didn’t expect to know anyone.
However, as we were gathering in the congregation a familiar lady
approached me with a broad smile.
Thankfully, when she got to me my feeble memory kicked in and I remembered
who she was. She taught one of my
daughters in middle school. I would
often chaperone field trips as my schedule could be flexible and they usually
needed men to assist on such activities.
So, she knew me well but that was a long time ago. That daughter is now in her mid-30s thus you
can me having to jog my memory. However,
I think I will always remember what she said.
She told me, “When I heard that
you were coming I was so excited. I told
everyone I knew you and they would love you.
You were always so upbeat and positive.
You are always smiling!” That’s
not a bad obituary. Again, back to
Steven Covey’s point, how do you want to be remembered?
