A Beloved Uncle

Last week, I learned that my uncle Charlie, who was only seven years older than I am, committed suicide.  He had a rough life, and the last week of it was spent losing a job and getting a time-out from some loved ones who didn't know how to help him.  At last he ended it all.

It was a difficult funeral, and I doubt that I will ever stop grieving now and then because I loved him. and he always made us laugh, and he was a good man.

It all causes me to stop and reflect on many things.  In the first chapter of John, he describes who Jesus is, that He came in to our world, but we didn't recognize Him.  He was light, the one who created everything.  Nothing came in to being without him.

But somehow we are blinded to those things, even though they are everywhere around us.  For some of us, we manage to wrap our minds around this wonderful idea that life is an adventure, and everything in it was created by this awesome being.  For us, everything has a meaning and a purpose.  But for others like Charlie, they can never quite see the gift.  And the everyday attempt to escape the demands of the world around us takes them down and down.

Without that connection to the life-source that created us, everything is hopeless.  And even people who are "successful" in life, always strive towards something more, something more.  But the more is already here, and the more does not make the same requirements of our lives as the world does.  The more, Jesus, only requires that we accept the gifts God has to offer of life and grace.  Everything is forgiven, and there are no other requirements other than to recognize and love our Creator.  Once we get that, then everything in life is success.

I will grieve for my uncle Charlie, because I will miss him.  That grief is part of life also, and helps me see in to the lives of others who have not yet found our Creator.  I'm glad that I have loved someone enough that it moves my heart, not only for him, but for others like him.