The great American General, Douglas MacArthur, was most known for a quote he made in 1951 that he actually borrowed from a popular barrack ballad of his day which said: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” Well, since I was never drafted, I was never a soldier. Consequently, I will never be given a military funeral and no member of my family will ever be given a flag and hear the words: “It is my high privilege to present to you this flag. Let it be a symbol of the appreciation this nation feels for the distinguished service rendered to our country, and to our flag by your loved one.” I think about this often when I conduct or am present at a military funeral. Nevertheless, I choose to believe that I have been, and am now, an old soldier of the Lord. Unlike MacArthur’s quote, this old soldier of the Lord will die some day and in the hearts and minds of many, I too will eventually fade away. Written words, however, can live forever. So I pray that many years from now, someone, somewhere, will still be getting some benefit from one of these old blogs, That is, if some of you have saved one or two.
Sometimes I consider myself the Red Skelton of blog writers because I probably get more out of writing these meditational thoughts than you do reading them. It has been a honor and a treasure to have had a relationship with you by way of these blogs. My hope from the beginning was that, through this medium, I could encourage, comfort, or strengthen you in your faith. I suspect that at times I may have made you laugh, caused you to shed a beneficial tear every now and then, even made you angry. In return, your words of encouragement and kind remarks kept me believing that I was not writing these blogs in vain. For that, I will forever be grateful to you and especially to God.
Today was my last official day writing these blogs but I would not be surprised if I resume writing on a regular basis sometime in the future, especially because all I may be able to do one day soon will be to write. For the time being, I have to attend to those things I have neglected at church and at home but because I love to write, you may still get a blog here and there. Besides, I’ve spent more time than I should have in front of this computer and have to be more physically active than I have been. I will still write a blog if and whenever I can and I pray that I will still be able to stay in touch with all of you.
God’s word for today: (Philippians 4:1) “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
