This Part I of a two part series on Finishing Well. Please come back to the site tomorrow to see Part II.
Last week, I received an email from friends in Arkansas. David and Shirley Smith traveled to Israel with us last year. That’s how we became friends. We have continued our friendship at a distance since that time.
This is the email from David:
“Just a quick prayer request note this morning. My stepdad, L. B. Dame, went home to be with The Lord early Monday morning and his funeral is at 10AM today. He would have been 94 next week. We saw him at church Sunday morning, gave him a hug and told him we loved him, and Monday morning we got a call at 7:15 that he was home. When they found him, he was sitting in his recliner in his apartment, dressed in a shirt and a tie (his usual attire for every day), with his Bible in his lap, along with his prayer list which was 1 & 1/2 pages long. As our pastor put it, “what a witness – one moment to be reading God’s word and the next to be in the presence of God, discussing it with Him.
“May I finish that well. Thanks for your prayers.”
All during the day, I prayed for David and his family. But more than that, I gave thanks for a godly man and a life well-lived.
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2 Responses
Thank you for a sobering reminder of redeeming time. As a Senior Adult Teacher and one who visited home bound it was almost a mantra I repeated to those who asked why they were still alive, what use were they. I would remind them of God’s Authority and the value of prayer as well as the value of reminding others of the sanctity of Life. “Time spent in prayer is time well spent.” My own words have often in recent years have come back to me along with the words of my Dad, “You don’t understand now, but one day, you will.”
I recently read something John Rosemond, Family Psychologist and syndicated columnist, wrote regarding parenting a challenging child. Doesn’t that describe all of us in our relationship with The Father at some point in time? He concludes his article about the statement of a parent to a child’s challenge to explain why they should listen, obey, by saying to the child, “Trust me.” He explains, arguing with a child about what cannot be understood is unproductive. Saying in conclusion, “In the meantime, all one can do is ask the child to trust. To which someone might say, ‘But he won’t understand either!’ That’s right. Faith is a long-term investment.”
I look forward to the next installment.
Thank you!
Blessings
“What a witness”-Amen! Onward Christian Soldier!