The only thing in life that is certain is the inevitability of change. As summer fades into fall we have been painfully reminded of this with the loss of our next door neighbor.
Junior was the farmer who lived next door. He was 93 years old and still worked every day. He and his wife raised black angus and draft horses and loved both. We would wave at him on the tractor every time we passed by . His wife was his best friend and they were always together. He literally dropped dead in the back field while burning brush. His wife was standing on the other side of the tractor.
Junior was blessed that he died doing what he loved with his best friend and partner right beside him. At his memorial service several folks mentioned that Junior disliked messy fence lines. Our shared pasture fence needed cleaning up and it was on the schedule with our farm manager. Junior beat him to it – 2 weeks before he passed away. After the service we simultaneously said how grateful we were he hadn’t passed away mowing our fence line! Great minds and nearly fifty years of marriage at work.
I know things will continue to change and some of those changed will be painful. I also know some of them will be blessings and opportunities and some of them will be both.
Cherish the people you have in your life. Embrace change and find the open doors that you can still walk through. Be thankful – not just on a Thursday in November but every day.
