Remembering those who have laid their lives down for me....

13 years ago I was working on a team that was designing a concept powertrain/transmission/PTO for a new line of Caterpillar ag tractors.  It was after our annual team outing to the Farm Progress Show when I received "the call." 

The first of many more to come. 

A good friend and coworker directed me to use the phone in his workspace.  News, silence, words, and tears were shared as my throat closed up, swollen with grief.  It would not be the last time that this same friend would offer timely integral words of grace following a life changing call from that very same place.  It is the very character of God to surround us with His fingerprints even, and especially in difficult times... I'm grateful for His touch.

The call.

He had been sick for a while.
Every time we spoke I would wonder if it was the last.
I felt every. single. inch. of the 600 miles between each time the receiver would click.
I will never forget the conversations we had over my lunch breaks.
We knew it was only a matter of time..... as it is for all of us.

Every single day so many lives change forever....
Because of that messenger we all know as "the call."
On the other line is the end of life as you once knew it to be.

Death, cancer, sickness, injury, and birth....
That place where life is truly seen as precious.
Where we feel the depth of our hearts.
Where priorities get aligned.
Love is extended.
Families gather.
Souls awaken.

His name was Randy.
He was my father.
He was a gift.
He was the man who loved my mother....
and adopted her children not by name, but by heart.
We now call him Pappy in our home.
He is missed.
Incredibly.

He was taken far too soon for us all.
A son, brother, uncle, friend, husband, and father.
He had been in our life for a short 13 years.
Raised up half a dozen kids that were not his own.
Survived being the father to 5 teenage daughters all at once.
He didn't get to walk them all down the isle.
Never held a grandchild in his arms.
Didn't get to finish raising his sons.

He was gone too soon.

In his life, he taught me how to be a living memorial.
Selflessness, sacrifice, service, unconditional love.
In his death, he taught me to tend to my soul.
I am thankful for both.

Because the truth is, we all are gone too soon.
A life cut far short of the Master's original plan for us.
We were designed to live a life with Him forever.
It doesn't matter if we live a total of 2 hours, 2 months, 2 years, or 102 years.....
We all live lives cut far short of the original plan.
Even the longest of lives is but a blink compared to eternal life.

We're all gone too soon.

The really hard part of grieving loved ones from a distance, is that the only words that are spoken are words of sorrow and sympathy.  There is no shared remembrance.  It is absolutely and completely void of sharing loving memories with people who understand who this person was to you.  Isolation is it's own grief, and it greets you the moment the long road home is staring you in the face. 

Remembering is important, God places no one in our lives by accident.  Now, I love to take the time to remember loved ones with people I never new, especially if they are grieving away from their loved ones.  One day, who knows... I may even recognize one of them.


Memorial Day.


It's a day we honor those who have laid their own lives down for us.
A day to honor sacrifice, service, and selflessness.
I remember soldiers.
I remember the cross.
I remember my Pappy.

Absolutely, honor those who have laid their lives down for you.
Certainly, remember your loved ones who touched your life.
Mostly, consider what it means to be a living sacrifice.

Thank you Pappy, for showing me how to do this.
You've made it easier for me to follow Jesus.
Through your life....
And your death.