May we fully live to our last breath.
Jane and John
John Southwood and I built our connection as co-leaders for a mission trip to Penasco, NM, just outside of Taos, way back in 1973. A van and two motorcycles carried our group of six across the California and Nevada deserts to that mountain village, to help with a recreation program. We both loved running and basketball, and dealing with one EGR member forged us in fire (Extra Grace Required). I suspect struggling through the last did more than the first two. He moved to Indiana and then Tennessee, while I had a short sojourn in Taos. But we stayed in touch, and the emergence of Facebook refreshed our closeness. Then a son of his and Jane moved to SoCal, and we often met him and Jane on visits.
I appreciated John’s integrity, his depth, his grace, and his intellect. That led to us going to a writers conference near Santa Cruz, so John could pick up the writing trade, make connections, and learn how to develop his book concept on Job’s integrity. We kicked his ideas back and forth, and some editors were intrigued with his proposal.
But after our return, while still with his son in SoCal, he had a seizure, resulting in a brain cancer diagnosis. He rang the bell after the treatments, but passed about a year later. I struggled with the loss of a friend, and the loss of what could have been a very effective tool at helping people deal with difficulties. This poem emerged from efforts to grapple with that loss.
Perhaps our best life ends
with songs unsung
with books unwritten
with paintings uncompleted
with new friends unmade
with languages unlearned
with journeys unbegun
with books unread
with skills undeveloped
with money unspent
for how empty the life
with nothing left to finish
but it
Purpose. John’s life had that—to serve God. To write a book that would help people deal with severe adversity, as he had. But cancer took him too soon. I grapple with that. In a world where we blame God for the evil that Satan brings to the world, John had an antidote. To add to the sadness, his wife and daughter could have completed that, but they couldn’t unlock his notes. A needed book unwritten. Lives untouched. Hence, the poem.
May we live as if we had time. May we have projects. May we have purpose beyond merely accumulating days. May we yearn to touch others in their pain and loss, rather than living mainly for our benefit. May we, when we see God for the first time, hear, “You did well child. You worked to serve me until your last breath.”
Kick Starting the Application
Regardless of your position in life, do you live for a purpose that honors your Creator? Do you have a clear purpose that can last till your last breath? If so, does it honor God? What changes might you may right now?