Epitaph

01/29/2010

Epitaph

On days when coughing leaves my vision going dark and walking down the hall of the trailer seems to be such a chore. When, by the time I get to my chair, my finger nails are turning purple. On days when my lungs think they have to remind me that they are failing ( as if dragging around a 50 foot air hose wasn't enough) or when my feet swell up like little footballs and the skin on my legs are so tight they feel like they could bust any second. On those days when my chest feels tight because my heart has to remind me that because of my lungs going bad that it has to work over time and is drowning in fluid. On those days my mind turns to …. epitaphs. (Well wouldn't yours?)

Epitaphs. Our final words to those we leave behind. What do I want to be my last words? “Help, get me out of this box”... Na, that's not it. How about what I was going to use in my will? “I, Gary Howard, being of sound mind, spent all of my money”. No, that wouldn't work either. It would be too hard to convince people that I was of sound mind. Especially if they knew me at all.

How about if I just copy from some famous people who have gone before? Like Winston Churchill, “ I am ready to meet my maker, whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” or perhaps I could use John Browns', a totally unbeknown dentist, “Stranger, approach this spot with gravity! John Brown is filling his last cavity!” Or perhaps the famous boxer Jack Dempsey, “A Gentle man and a Gentleman”. No. That wouldn't work. I have never been known as a “gentle” man and although I have tried to always be a gentleman I must admit to coming up short too many times.

I was reading the Bible last night and I found my perfect epitaph. The one that I would like to have on my tombstone. The one that I would have others say about me. It is found in the book of Genesis, chapter 5. The marking of the birth line from Adam to Noah.

In this chapter, starting with Adam, we are told of the man and his offspring. It tells us how old he was when he became a father and it tells us how many years he lived after becoming a father. It does this through all 9 generations of men always ending the same way “..and then he died.” All, that is, except one. His name was Enoch. Starting with verse 21, the Bible states “21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

Enoch was the first man (but not the last) who did not taste death but was taken straight into heaven. Why you may ask? Well, I'm no Bible scholar and I don't believe God has given me any great insight above others, but I have a strong suspicion it may have to do with, “ And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years...” . So after studying on this a bit I decided what better epitaph could a man ( or woman) ask for than to have it said of him “........ walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

Of course I believe that in my case a little editing may be in order for I have not always walked with God. It was a long time before I was able to get the scales off my eyes and I don't believe the Lord will be coming back in my life time (especially considering all of my health issues) but I do have that promise that if I am here I will be “no more, because God took him away.”

No, I should like my epitaph to read “While he did not always walk with God, he was forgiven and soon God will take him away be it in the grave or out”.

Yes, I do believe that would be a great epitaph. Have you ever wondered what you would like to be said of you in the end? Think about and let me know if you like. I would be interested.