A Life Well Lived

HHBL, Shoe Queen, Slim Jim and I went to a funeral on Sunday.

Father’s Day.

Robin mourned her husband.

Ashley, Alan and Allie said goodbye to their dad.

All of us came together to celebrate the life and person that was Mark. 55 years old, in relatively good health although he had Parkinson Syndrome, Mark was the picture of a man entering retirement, sort of.  Mark always said that he had asked God to make him a “mover and a shaker” and God had a sense of humor hence the Parkinsons. No one, least of all his family, expected that the Lord that Mark loved so much would call him home so very soon and so very suddenly. He was there, and then he wasn’t.

I can say that Mark was one of the nicest, kindest, funniest men that I have known. Always quick with a smile and a pun. A second father to Shoe Queen and her gang of friends. A man of integrity and intelligence, calm spirit and wisdom.

And when I read his obituary, I realized that the Mark I knew was only a tiny part of the Mark that was. He lived his life quietly, intensely, compassionately. He loved the Lord with intensity. And because he loved God, he loved others with that same passion and intensity. Always willing to help others, often times anonymously. Always quick with insight or a pun or both.

His son, Alan, said something that has been ringing in my ears. He said that tragedy isn’t a short life, it is a small life.

Mark may have had a short life. But he certainly didn’t have a small life.

I hope, when the time comes for the Lord to call me home, that people who know me will say that I did not live a small life.

Mark certainly didn’t.