The Unfinished Life

If you'll check out my George W. Truett quote blog, which is linked on this page, you'll find a quote about life being unfinished. This thought resonates with me, for I returned recently from going through my parent's things in preparation for an estate sale.

First, I can say that the loss of my parents and the fairly recent loss of my mother is still very tender to me. Since I've been back, my mind returns to thought of my mother and father- with tenderness, humor, and sometimes bewilderment. I honestly thought these feelings were behind me, but surprise- they have reemerged.

Second, I note how much stuff they left behind. Mother loved crafts, antiques, gardening, reading, and collecting garage sale materials. The yard, storerooms and house is full of examples. Who wants to keep old chunks of concrete from some long forgotten remodeling project? I found some of my father's cuff links and service pins from his job. He had perfect attendance for many years. I even found some slides sent from the developer in 1953 when he was in the service. It was apparently of some trip to the beach. Who is that women with the short shorts? It doesn't look like Mom! Maybe this is why they stayed in the drawer.

But they left it all. They no longer need it, and I have no room for it. So it must go. So many of us spend so much time gathering stuff only to leave it for someone after us to throw away, sell, or otherwise dispose of it.

Funny how it feels so odd to go through other people's stuff- even when it is your own parent's stuff. I feel that I am nosing around where I don't belong. I told my brother as went through a forbidden drawer in my father's chest, "This is the first time I'll be in this drawer and Dad won't know it." His drawer was fascinating to me as a child. It held all sort of interesting items- knives, jewelry, pens, and other odds and ends. But no matter how careful I was to set each item back in its place, Dad always knew someone had been in his drawer. I still hear his voice saying, "Now, who's been in my drawer!" It was wasn't a question. It was a demand. Dad always knew.

The leftover items from my parent's life reminds me of Truett's thought. The tragedy of life is not that it is ended, but rather that it is unfinished. I pray that I might be like King David in the Bible- to live out God's purpose for my life and then die.

May all of us finish well!