Years ago, I was serving 50 churches in various
capacities. We organized Disaster Relief
ministries to help those recovering from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and any
other natural disaster. We removed trees
from houses, rebuilt homes and cleaned out flood damaged homes. We also rebuilt and repaired homes for poor
people in our home area and in other states.
We organized teams of retired, middle aged and young people who
connected in the name of Christ to minister to those in need. I was also privileged to participate and lead
teams to go overseas to dozens of countries to share the love of Christ in many
ways; through construction, medical and Bible teaching teams. Some of these third world countries required
extreme focus on security as we often were in places that would be
dangerous. I have had armed soldiers
stop our van seeking a bribe before we could pass. We went to places where we had constant
police escorts that were necessary to grant us safety for the work and ministry
we sought to give.
I never thought about my personal safety. I always assumed that “God would take care of
me…as long as I didn’t do anything too foolish.” However, my wife would always worry about
me. That’s what people who genuinely
love you do…and I am blessed as she genuinely loves me!
She once asked me which one of my pastor friends would I
want to conduct my funeral should something happen. Being the natural born smart-alecky person I
have been most of my life, I answered; “Don’t bother anyone. I’ll do it myself!” I then began thinking about recording my own
funeral.
I decided that I would film myself kayaking down a creek and
stopping at the camera I had previously set up to share some final thoughts and
wisdom with a sense of humor. (hey, it’s
my funeral, I can call it wisdom and humorous if I want to!) I would record a
DVD that would be placed in a safe deposit box not to be opened or viewed until
my death. I picked out the perfect
spot. It was a creek that had a bend
that came to a perfect place to put the camera for recording. I would set everything up and set the camera
to record then go off camera to get into the kayak upstream and paddle into the
camera range, pulling over to share greetings and my final words. After sharing whatever wisdom, I thought I
had obtained over the years, I would pause and look over my shoulder and say,
“Well, I guess it is time to see what is around the next bend. See you later!” I would then reach out of camera range and
hit the remote to start the CD that would begin playing Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9
in E minor, "From the New World", Movement 2 (Largo). William Arms Fisher, who was one of Dvorak's
student's, put words to the melody that became the popular song; ‘Going
Home’. What a perfect ending!
I couldn’t have been more excited and pleased with my
funeral…then as if God Himself tapped me on the shoulder, I heard in my mind;
“OK, smart boy if you want to toy with and be cute about the end of your life
be careful! I hold your life in my
hands. It is not something to be trifled
with. It is a precious fragile gift that
is to be meant to be lived to the fullest every day I give you breath!” OK! OK! I get the point! When we are not to focus on dying, which we
will all do, but on living and making the most of each day that we are
here. When our time comes the way which
we lived our lives should be the testament we leave.
At the risk of jumping completely off the theological ledge,
on which I am always precariously balanced, I am reminded of a conversation
from my favorite western book and movie; Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Augustus McCrae, the philosophical Texas
Ranger cowboy is sharing his thoughts about life with his best friend, Captain
Woodrow F. Call, who is the total opposite of Gus. Call is hardworking, pragmatic and simple in
his way of viewing life usually totally frustrating the thoughtfulness of Gus,
who is discussing the life of someone they both knew who could have possibly
lived a more fulfilling life outside of the confides of the dead-end town of
Lonesome Dove. Call responds, missing
the point completely saying that “she could have died anywhere!” Gus rises up in his saddle and says; “It
ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living,’ Augustus said. ‘I doubt it matters
where you die, but it matters where and how you live.”
What one says about us after we are gone matters less than where and how we live. If we live each day to the fullest of our ability loving our neighbor and God as we love ourselves, we have already left the most eloquent words that will be repeated about us after we are gone.
