Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The only race worth running

Somewhere along the line, the local newspaper began letting others write their own or their friends or families' obits. I'm not certain of the reason, but I'm very happy about it.

Now, one can wonder about why I read them, but that's a blog of another day.

Today, I honor those who write them, whomever they might be.

One I saw today reads, "She is survived by her three beloved canine children, Maddie, Susie and Looter, who will be lovingly cared for by her family members." It goes on to read, "the following quote is a wonderful summation of her personality: 'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways -- iced tea in one hand and chocolate in the other -- body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming, Woo Hoo! What a Ride.'"

Another read, "He loved crossword puzzles, fishing with his friends and spending time with his family." A loner who loved being with people. I know him well.

Still another read,"He was a loyal friend to whom he would give the shirt off his back. He will be remembered by all the lives he has touched. To the many friend she has left behind, he will be forever missed not as a friend, but as a brother." A brother to all isn't a bad way to be.

It's just a moment, a moment of newsprint that will be put in a book somewhere and placed on a shelf somewhere else. To try to sum what a person has been in the space of a few lines of type is difficult at best, terribly straining at worst. So often we look to try to say who they were.

The question then of the day is, "How do you wish to be remembered."

I'm pretty sure the first thing I would want is, I want to be remembered, period. After that, I would love someone to have noticed that I love certain things and have tried to do certain things and loved certain people and was loved by them in return. I loved certain music and certain sports teams and certain moments in time. I loved my family, and wanted friends so badly, canine, feline and human.

But what I want more than anyone else is for someone to have seen, not just noticed but to have seen without question, that I loved Jesus Christ and that love meant all the difference in the world. That who I once was was not who I was when I passed. I was a changed man, and it was quite intentional. I was a different fellow, and all knew it. I couldn't do a crossword if there was a gun to my head, but my body was used up in the pursuit of the lost.

Paul said of his end in a letter he wrote to his pupil Timothy, "You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you — keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant. You take over. I'm about to die, my life an offering on God's altar. This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting — God's applause!"

I hope that anyone writing my obit will say something akin to "After much experimentation, he discovered that this was the only race worth running, and Turner ran it hard to the finish."

With one last chance to say something about the person before they're gone into the fog of history, what we did slips into a second-place behind who we were. I'm not sure that's the right way to see our lives. I pray that what I did was more memorable than who I was and that both of them fall behind whose I was. Put that at the top of the obit in bold, capital letters. BILLY WAS A SON OF GOD

This is the only race worth running. My friends, run it hard, run it the best you can, run it for the one waiting at the finish line. Run to the edge of the River Jordan, plow into the murky, deep waters, come up out of ther wet and wild with a smile a lifetime in the making, and say hello to the one who made it all possible.

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