Last Saturday, we went to the funeral of Martha Axtell, a faithful lady who lived in our town for many years. This Friday, we are going to the funeral of Dick Nelson, another faithful man who also lived in the area for many years. Last night I received a call from my very close friend, Eric Plews. His grandmother, Vivian, who was had a big and wonderful influence on my life, died last night. When we first moved to Newberg before my junior year in high school, Vivian and all of the rest of the Plews opened up their family to us. I am grateful to them and mourn their loss, but Vivian lived a victorious life. We have felt like we were part of their family for a long time–meeting in with them for Sunday morning fellowship meetings and Wednesday night bible studies for many years. One of our best memories was when Grandpa Milo and Vivian’s son Joe decided to have a Mother’s Day breakfast for all the ladies in the field before Sunday morning meeting just shortly after we moved to town. It was such a wonderful success that they did that for many more years.
All of these people had lived long, faithful lives. I am sure they were not perfect, but they surely seemed that way when we were young. It is hard to see that generation go. It has been a help to me, though, in remembering my priorities. All of this is happening at a time when our children are young, just getting started, and need to see someone they respect model what is right. The world is very much different from when Martha, Dick, and Vivian were young, but the issues are still the same. Because the generation that needs to do the modeling is my generation, some of us surely do not seem as able as earlier generations.