This June I completed my 74th trip around the sun. I've seen it all. I've seen death. I've seen pain. I've seen loss. I've also seen the sunrise over the Mokulua Islands in Kailua. I've seen the sunset at Waikiki. I've seen the glory of the Grand Canyon and the beauty of the Galilean hillside and the magnificence of the Parthenon. And, a long time ago, I saw a spark in the eyes of an ethereal young woman who is still with me after all these years. She was young, full of dreams, yet she died in a very tragic way, and yet very common way. Her passing captures how unpredictable, uncertain, and strange life can be. What to do now? Live. Just live. Live in the present. Stop. Reflect. And appreciate what you have, like the roses she planted 25 years ago ...
... or the donkeys I bought to remind her of her Ethiopian homeland after she became too sick to travel.
She was my best friend. Every time I came home she would hug me. She was my first and only wife and I miss her so much. Sometimes I weep with gratitude and complete adulation of this gift that was so graciously bestowed on me by her Maker.
After every winter comes spring. Spring brings a miracle to my favorite trees. Barren for months, they suddenly burst forth with tiny green emblems of life. It's an annual reminder that a similar miracle awaits those who know Jesus as Lord. Suffering and disease will be no more, all our tears will be dried up, and for the first time we'll experience life as it was really and truly meant to be. His coming will be the spring of springs, and on that day we'll be face to face with our Lord and Savior, the King of kings.
