Mark Pritchard,
Business,
Central Washington University
[Feb 21, 2009] —“Life is a gift, given in trust – like a child,” Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote.
Every now and then I manage to get back to my alma mater and visit my ‘old’ advisor Dennis at the University of Oregon, or “Nike U.” as we like to tease him. Several summers ago we met for lunch at an off-campus restaurant and talked about research and family (my chair had introduced me to my wife as I finished my dissertation).
As we returned to the college we both yelled “Hi!” and waved to Mel, a colleague we’d worked with years before. Mel waved back, mentioning something about seeing doctors in response to our inquiry on how things were going. A matter of weeks later Mel was gone, taking his own life when faced with cancer.
This Did Little To Dispel The Gloom
Dennis and I traveled out to the funeral together. The grave-side minister was an old friend of Mel’s from his time at seminary before he stepped away and chose a very different direction for his life. The mood was somber as the minister recounted how helpful and friendly Mel had been to all. Yet, this did little to dispel the gloom of the event.
As we drove back from the service I felt at a loss for words. What epitaph could faith bring to the grave? Stopping first at the college, I began heading back to my hotel. With so little hope expressed that afternoon I lifted a quiet prayer, “Lord, what can be said?”
I shifted lanes as I approached my exit. Taking the off-ramp, I had never noticed the huge electronic sign which rose above my hotel before. Like that star from long ago, a single word blazed out into the dusk light: “Grace.” Even when things look dark, the apostle Paul encourages us to humbly “testify to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).
What Began In Obscurity
I must confess my thoughts that day had been snagged on what we do, rather than what He has done. What began in obscurity rose to swallow death and forever change the fabric of our destiny. Has there ever been better news than this? No, it is as the angel proclaimed, “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
With Christmas long past and the semester now in full swing, I don’t want to rush into a day without first letting this news in. With Rae Mellichamp’s New Year’s Resolution for reading the book in mind, may the motive of the Giver and the magnitude of His gift (Eph 2:8) inspire each day with a confidence to tell others God so loved that He gave.
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© 2009 Mark Pritchard Used by permission of Faculty Commons