This month our family said goodbye to a beautiful man who, for many years, was our patriarch. His name was Harry and he was my father’s cousin. He would have been 96 this spring. His was a good life, graced with health and a marriage of 71 years. Though I considered him a quiet man, he always found a way to make me feel loved and appreciated.
Harry and his wife were very special to our family. At their wedding, my dad served as best man. My mom happened to be the maid of honor. My parent’s romance started at that wedding. A picture documents how my mother seemed only to have eyes for my dad. I find it very sweet that cousins, Harry and my dad, married two best friends.
Harry and his wife were also instrumental in my family’s faith journey, praying for us as we came to understand the message of the gospel.
As I sat listening to the eulogy, I was struck by his son’s words sharing how Harry had no malice in him. What a wonderful character trait to embody. I certainly could believe it of this kind man. But it made me recognize that my thoughts and reactions are often not so pure.
Then this week in our Bible study, one of the verses we read instructed us to get rid of malice. In the Bible, malice is often paired with envy, deceit and arrogance. The pastor speaking at the funeral shared words Harry had written about the nature of a fool. “The fool is never the person who is mentally deficient. The fool is the person who is arrogant, who makes no room for God.”
I have been chewing on both lessons from the service. As spring has sprung, this version of 1 Peter 2:1-3 from The Message caught my fancy: “So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.”
When I think of spring, I think of growing up in New Hampshire where spring was slow in coming. During mud season, our long dirt driveway was impassible. Occasionally, one of us kids would lose a boot in the muck. But when the lilacs bloomed, that was SPRING!
Just before I had the opportunity to write this blog, I sat stewing, deep in negativity. I had not felt this sour in a long while. Then the inspiration of Harry’s fine example came to mind. My mood lifted as I thought about his legacy and about his faithfulness. How fitting that a funeral and a farewell has led to a birth of cleansed thinking and a welcome in my heart for more of God. A simple way for me to do this is to ponder God’s Word, His love letter to us, and to rejoice in His world.
So as spring arrives, every facet will prompt me to purge the malice that easily muddies my mind.
When I see lambs on a hillside…
Or hear a gentle rain…
Or worship and pray, alone or with friends…
Or smell the sweetness of lilacs…
Or taste a bite of rhubarb pie…
And welcome new life……
I will be drinking in the pure kindness of spring, grateful for the giver of such blessings, who also has given us Himself.
ABOUT THE BLOGGER:
Linnea Tideman has always enjoyed sharing stories. Her childhood in New Hampshire and her Swedish heritage have provided her with a wealth of experiences, but also the foundation of her faith. She enjoys creative projects, travel, books, sewing, gardening, but most of all hospitality, often hosting fancy teas and occasionally something grand like recreating dinner on the Titanic. She serves the UrbanPromise and Good Neighbors ministries. Linnea lives in Landenberg with her husband Dave. They have three grown daughters. She hopes that her writing reflects how God continues to reveal Himself to us as our shepherd and Savior.