I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10b The Message
Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!
Psalm 90:12 The Message
It was a quiet Sunday evening. The big brown “chair” in my living room embraced me like two loving arms and cradled me as I sat relaxing in front of the television when the phone rang. I was elated as I checked the caller ID to see that the call was from my friend in Cleveland. We had not spoken with each other in a few weeks and I eagerly answered the phone. Psalm 90:12 The Message
The voice on the other end was not my friend’s. Immediately I knew – “My father passed away yesterday morning. . .” My heart sank and tears began to well up in my eyes. My dear friend of nearly twelve years was gone.
“He always spoke of you; of how much you encouraged and inspired him. Your friendship meant a lot to him. You inspired him to fight.”
I was stunned. Yes, I knew he was sick. He had been battling a rare form of cancer for well over two years now. The last time I had talked with him, he sounded better than he had sounded in a while. He was home. He was in a place of peace and filled with hope and faith that made my heart swell. I prayed often with him and for him; we both expected to see God do the miraculous.
“He was a good man and a good friend. I will miss him and I will definitely be praying for you and the rest of your family,” I managed to say. I hung up the phone and cried. I rest in the fact that my friend knew Jesus Christ. I had watched him over the years grow in his relationship with God. We often spoke of that process of growing in grace and coming to know the Lord in a more intimate way. We prayed together and encouraged one another to press into that place in God where nothing else matters. I believe that in his sickness he found that place. I heard in him a deeper faith and deeper intimacy with the Lord in the months that followed his diagnosis.
I rest in the fact that he is not in pain. I am reminded of the words I heard years ago: “Death is the final healing.”
But I am saddened. I am saddened at the loss of my good friend. Though he lived nearly five hours away and we didn’t see each other often, we talked frequently. He made me laugh. He made me think. He challenged me. He inspired me. And while we had the testing times that all friendships face, we emerged from them knowing that this was a friendship forged by God in love.
I am saddened by the awareness that there are many things we will not experience together. I’ll never taste the award-winning white chili he bragged on; he’ll never taste the dressing I boasted of. We’ll never play that game of air hockey. I’ll never see him dance – one of those things he so loved to do. He won’t hear me sing again. He’ll never travel with me to the missions field as we had once talked about.
Winston’s death has stirred something deep in me that I can’t shake and that pray I never shake. It is a defining moment of sorts. The older I get the more keenly aware I am of the tenuousness and preciousness of life. And while we must always continue to believe and expect the miraculous, while we continue to stand in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we really don’t know the number of our days. There are things we cannot, should not, must not put off until tomorrow. Winston’s life and death serve to remind me – to remind us all – to live fearlessly, to take deep breaths inhaling and then exhaling love, laughter, joy, grace.
No dreams put on hold! No words left unsaid! No love withheld!
What a magnificent gift God has given us in Christ Jesus – Abundant Life!! There is no rewind button! There are no do-overs! This is it! And it is grand and filled with wonder and promise. Despite the challenges, the mountains, the tests, it is so worth the living! I am determined to lay down each night knowing I unwrapped the gift of life for that day and explored all the wonderful possibilities, tasted the beauty of it, made a difference, and honored God simply by living wise and living well and having no regrets!
