What Would You Give?

On a recent ordinary morning, I went about my regular routine of working out at the indoor pool. As I was finishing up, one of the "regular" exercisers stopped and asked me how I was doing. Having just gotten over the H1N1 flu and having a sore knee and ankle, I responded rather flippantly that I was okay, but had certainly been better. As I looked into her face, she quietly said, "I've been much better." She them asked if I heard what happened to her daughter (she assumed that I had heard, since she also goes to church with us). I explained that I had been sick and so, I did not know about her daughter. She explained that her daughter, who was 47, had cancer three years ago and had been cancer-free until August. In mid-August she experienced some intestinal tract problems that they could not clear up. The end of August, doctors performed exploratory surgery and found her cancer had returned . She died last week, only a few short weeks after going to the doctors. As she fought back tears, while telling me this story, she said she never thought she would be burying a child. She then made a comment that struck me so strongly, that I knew I needed to write it down...to remember. She said, "You know I have a lifetime of things and there is nothing in all those things that I would not trade for one more day to see my daughter."

As I have thought about the events that lead her to that thought, I realized that most of us would respond to that comment the same way I initially did. Of course I would give up anything I have for the chance to sit and look through old pictures with my wife, to sit around a campfire with my dad, to fish once more with my Papaw, to watch ducks land in front of a blind with my son, to see my daughter smile knowingly, as she wrapped me around her finger one more time, or to read a bedtime story to my grandsons! However, the thought then struck me that even as I said this, I realized that each of us is asked this question everyday and every moment! The difference is that the question is usually disguised in the camouflage of the mundane. We are asked to prioritize on a daily or even hourly basis. Can you let that big project wait another day at work, while you go see a child's ball game? Can you spend a Saturday afternoon pulling weeds in the flowerbed with your wife or do you need to go to the hardware store and take care of that rusted gate latch? Is it more important to get your car washed than it is to go to the park with your grandson? Each of those questions can be answered either yes or no and either answer can be right. However, when looked at through the eyes of eternity, it seems to me that the real question is really this, is your relationship with the ones you love more valued than possession or thing that you have? It is my prayer that the next time I am faced with choosing between urgent and important, I choose important...the people I love!

How Many People Do You Know In Heaven?

One of the top-selling novels several years ago was titled "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", by Mitch Albom. I will confess to having never read the novel and to having no great insight into Mr. Albom's theology. However, the title is intriguing on it's own! Last night, I was reminded of the title to the book, when our pastor, Chad Selph, was talking about a funeral he was preparing to conduct. He made the statement that as he looked at his life, he had begun to realize that in the not too distant future, he would know more people in heave than he knew on earth. As I returned home, I realized he was right. Over the past 55 years, I have had the privilege to know and love more people than I could ever have deserved. These people have had a profound impact on my life, as I hope I have had on theirs. However, as I contemplate the people I have known, I realize that many of these people have gone from this life to the next and that Chad was right...I might know more people in heaven that here on earth! As I thought about this, some of those people were drawn to my mind. I thought I would share a few of those people that I am looking forward to seeing on that day that I journey from this earthly life and into the next.

One of the people I know in heaven and I look forward to seeing is my grandfather, G. E. Miller. He was my Papaw and I have missed him everyday since that day in August of 1973. He took me to my first State Fair of Texas and fed me my first Fletcher's corny dog! He took me on my first fishing trip and always let me drive the boat. He made the best chili ever made and he always ate it with Hydrox cookies (for the uninitiated that was Texas-made cookie that was exactly like an Oreo...only better!) But the main thing he did for me was to show me how a grandfather should love his grandson. I want to see him and tell him all about my wife, Anita and his great grandchildren, Alicia, Mark, Tim and Meghan. I want to tell him about his great-great grandsons, Mark and Luke and watch him smile when he hears all about them.

I will also get to see a man named Jerry Ray. Jerry was an evangelist who had a heart for lost people and for discipling God's people. He is the man who lead me to the Lord. Jerry died when before he was forty years old and left a family and friends to ask why. I still don't know the answer to that question, but I know the God who holds that answer and all others and I trust Him. I want to tell Jerry thank you!

I'll get to see a little girl named Kristen Kirk. Kristen only lived a few short years, but she touched the lives of an entire church and community. Her trust in a God she knew was waiting for her shamed all of us. At the end of her life she met her Savior with open arms. I have always prayed for the same grace we saw in Kristen and I want to tell her how much we all loved her.

There are so many others that I will see again. There will also be others who come after I am gone. However, the one person I look forward to seeing more than anyone else is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I doubt that I will even have words to speak at that moment. I want to touch His hands and look into His face and know that I will spend eternity with Him!

As I think about it, I realize that the real objective in our lives should be to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to as many lost people as we can while we are here. And if you think about it, that will only increase the number of people you know in Heaven! So, who do you know in heaven?