This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad ever. My stepson had just hit a major growth season, and was WAY taller than my dad. Not to be outdone my dad grabbed a kitchen chair and there you see the hilarious results. My dad was one of the funniest people I have ever known, and I miss his humor to this day.

He was also a yard sale nut..both going to them and having them. He was convinced that true treasure was waiting to be discovered at a sale, or that his financial windfall was going to happen at HIS next sale. With that in mind, he and I planned a sale for March 2004, changed it to April, and changed it back to March. And I have shared the story of how his congestive heart failure caught up with him on March 18 and he wound up in the hospital.

Pause there for a minute and think about this: my dad was 66, had some heart issues, had survived a quadruple heart bypass, and was in fair health. He was frustrated by a lot of things he didn’t feel like doing anymore, but was still semi-active and expecting a to live longer. Thus the choice of March or April seemed tiny..but had profound meaning just days later, when my dad died on March 28th, had his funeral here (Moultrie) and was buried in Atlanta ON THE FIRST SATURDAY in April. The day we thought we had as an option for a yard sale. The day we thought would be followed by many many others together.

So here I am today, March 4th, and the 15th anniversary of his death is fast approaching..15 years. And as with every March, I spend a lot of time thinking about him and how his life seemed cut off too early. This year, however, I have learned something new. My dad packed an awful lot in those years! He enjoyed life..and LIVED it. He was curious, spontaneous, and always planting something new in his flower beds. He laughed..a lot. He yelled when he was angry..a lot. He was the one always looking for mischief and humor. And he loved…a lot! In other words, by and large, he lived in the present..and it showed. And as the years began to add up, he saw what I do now..that whatever age you are, there is always someone who died younger. Especially as a pastor, he buried enough people of all ages that understand this main principal..aging is not promised, but should always be appreciated!

In other words, don’t “age gracefully” as the saying goes. And don’t fall for the lie that “come grow old with me, the best is yet to be”..because it isn’t always and we don’t always grow old together. Therefore, the title of this post..age GRATEFULLY. I am losing three friends right now to cancer, one younger than me and two my age. I also have amazing friends in their 90’s who have been married 60 plus years and are still dancing, and one set of friends in their 90’s who are painfully dealing with major health issues on both their parts. But there is a recuuring theme among them all..gratitude. They have all seen, sometimes too many times, those that haven’t had even their amount of days..and they know it.

So as I look back again on my dad’s life and his death, I know one thing..he was always grateful. My goal is to join him in that legacy, and honor the Lord in my doing so!