By Dr. Joe Yelton
Interim Pastor
Do you remember the last ... the very last time you played a game which is strictly played by children? Maybe it was Red Rover. For those with a few years in the rear-view, maybe it was a game of Jacks or Tidily-Winks. Why did you never return to that game? In our macro-view, we say that we simply matured beyond such things. But that’s not the question. If Red Rover was good to play the final time you played it, wouldn’t it have been good to play again the following weekend? For whatever reason, the last time was indeed, the last time.
It’s completely normal and expected to grow out of certain behaviors as we grow into new ways of living but, don’t you wish, if only for a moment, that you could visit that “last time” once more? I’d give a lot to be able to visit with Charlie, Billy, Mike, and Larry. As children we were inseparable. Now, we practically never see one another, except for funerals.
It all makes me wonder .. .what “last times” am I experiencing right now .. .final moments that will never walk my stage again? Ten weeks ago, the Sunday prior to becoming your Interim Pastor, I attended worship at the church I pastored for 25 years. There I encountered lots of wonderful friendly faces. Among them was Larry Brooks. Larry was the quietest man I’d ever known. I’ve known him more than two decades but probably had never heard him speak more than a few dozen words. I suppose Electrical Engineer’s don’t need to speak very much. He was brilliant, kind, generous, devoted and most every other superlative I could consider. How could I have known that the last Sunday of January would be the final time to interact with Larry? I couldn’t know.
Two weeks ago, Larry and his son were killed in an automobile accident. A driver veered into their lane, hitting them head-on. Instantly, many lives were jolted by the reality of their “last time” with those men. Saturday, I attended their funeral.
You have now, but you have it only for now. Live importantly. Love deeply. Share yourself generously. Do this and you are accomplishing the Jesus thing. You see, each of us are heading toward our “last time.” Let’s arrive there having lived to the full. And when people look back and remember their final time with us, may they smile remembering.