Going home was a wonderful experience for me during my first 18 years. I rode a yellow school bus ten miles to school. I loved school but I was glad to return home every day.
Home gave me a sense of belonging, and a safe refuge where I was loved by my Mom and Dad, my sisters and my brother. I wouldn’t have known what to call it then, but there was peace in our home. I don’t recall my Mom and Dad ever criticizing each other; if there was conflict between them they dealt with it in the privacy of their bedroom.
After high school there were college days at Auburn, a new adventure. There was no going home at the end of the day. Home was now the apartment I shared with two friends. Neither of them baked cookies for me like my Mom had done.
I did return home often but more to see my sweetheart than my parents and siblings. At the end of my sophomore year Dean and I got married and began to create a home of our own – a garage apartment we rented for $75 a month. Once again, after classes and a part-time job, I looked forward to going home every day.
Years later, while serving as an evangelist with the Methodist Board of Evangelism in Nashville, I enjoyed the friendship of a fellow evangelist, Rueben Job. Four years older than me, Rueben and I became close friends. We often prayed together. His Christlike spirit inspired and blessed me.
The author of several good books, in his old age Rueben wrote an excellent book that has helped me face the end of my life. The title, Living Fully, Dying Well, has become the desire of my heart during the final chapter of my earthly life.
Rueben reminds us that “the subject of what happens when we die is not easily or often talked about, but it should be and must be if we are to live fully, claiming our inheritance as children of a God of love.”
I agree with Rueben that “Living fully is life’s most rewarding gift.” And I love his observation that living fully and dying well “requires deep personal faith as well as an inviting, vital, welcoming, supportive, and nurturing community of faith that presents opportunities to talk openly and honestly about the mystery of dying.”
Rueben’s insights about dying well have helped me shape the way I am trying to live out my remaining days. Unlike me, Rueben did not ride a bus to school. He rode a horse and sometimes walked to his school in Jamestown, North Dakota.
I was touched by the way Rueben described going home after school each day. When he was walking the two and half miles home, he would approach his farmstead from a small hill. Then, he says, “When I got to the top, there was our house about three blocks away. I would begin running down that hill, unbuttoning my jacket, and if it was warm, my shirt.
“I burst into the kitchen that was filled with the aroma of fresh bread or cookies prepared by my mother, just waiting for my arrival.
“I loved school, the excitement of learning and the fun of being with other children, but there was no place like home and the loving welcome for me there. So I slipped off my clothes as I ran the last few blocks, ready to take off my ‘school clothes’ and put on my ‘home clothes.’
“One day you will hear that Rueben has died. Let there be no sorrow, but instead celebration as you remind each other, ‘He just slipped out of his school clothes and put on his home clothes. He is at home now.’”
Changing into his new clothes, Rueben arrived home at age 86 in 2015, after living fully and dying well.
One day soon I too am going home, there to enjoy the company of my Lord Jesus, my dear Dean, my sons who have gone before me, my family, and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. I have no idea when or where I shall die, but my heart’s desire is for my last words to be “Thank you Jesus,” and for the next words I hear to be Jesus saying, “Welcome Home Walter.”
Are you ready to go home? I hope so. If not, it’s time to take care of business. Talk to Jesus. He will show you what you need to do so you can joyfully sing “It is well with my soul.” Then you’ll be ready to die well. In the meantime, live fully, honoring Jesus with deeds of love and mercy. With his help, you too can live fully and die well.