Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Bon Voyage (09/05/05)
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TITLE: I Can Only Imagine | Previous Challenge Entry
By BRENDA BEATTIE
09/10/05 -
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From the first breath at birth to the last breath at death, life is a journey. Like any other journey it is filled with ups and downs, good times and bad. Along the way you meet many people, and from that you build bridges and foundations that last a life time. This journey has a beginning and an end, and saying goodbye is always hard to do. If you are very lucky, you will meet one person on that journey that changes you forever. I have been blessed to have known such a person. So many people go through life as if they have an endless supply of time. None of us are promised a tomorrow, we only have today. Life can end at any moment, and the chance to say I love you soon vanishes. So when you meet someone who knows how to live life filled with the joy of the moment, you never forget them.
My brother in law Dean was such a man. He was a great husband, and a wonderful father of six children. He had a sense of humor that made him more like one of the kids then an adult. He was a police officer in San Diego Ca., a motorcycle cop for twenty four years. He spent his life giving to protect others. His sense of humor didn't just show up at home, he was the life of the San Diego Highway patrol. He was one of those people that once you met him, you never forgot him. His stories and practical jokes could make the hardest heart crack. He never missed an opportunity to share his faith in Christ, he was not ashamed of the gospel. On Nov. 19, 2003, he was killed in the line of duty. At his funeral there were over 2000 officers in attendance, a five mile motorcade, and a twenty one gun salute from the Marine Corp. The section of highway he was killed on was renamed after him. One of his fellow officers made a CD of Deans antics and practical jokes from pictures they had taken. He even made people laugh at his funeral, he would have enjoyed that. Many stood to say things about Dean, but the comment from one of his daughters was the best. She said she would miss putting out his bible everynight before she went to bed, because he got up every morning at 4:00 AM to read before going to work. A golden legacy.
Whether our journey is short or long, only God knows. I can only imagine what it was like for Dean that first morning in heaven, but I know what a void was left in our hearts as we continued the journey without him. Bon voyage my dear Dean, till this journey of ours ends and we see you again. Thank you for teaching us all to laugh, to love, and to always put Christ first in all we do.
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