And Lies Down To Pleasant Dreams

I was just watching a documentary about the “Jeremiah O’Brien;” the World War II merchant ship. It seems that old dilapidated relic sat in the scrap yard for decades, awaiting its ultimate fate; when a group of current and former military men and women created a foundation to save it from destruction. After all, it was the last of almost 3,000 Liberty Ships, and once the blow torch did its grisly work these glorious relics of our past would be relegated to black and white film, and the fading memories of those who served on them.

The Jeremiah O’Brien was salvaged from certain destruction thanks to the efforts of those who loved her, and the expenditure of well over a million dollars in donations.

A beloved object from the second war to end all wars; restored to its former glory.

Sad to consider, however, that the same can’t be said for those who served upon her. For those who still have the good fortune to live, and move and breathe are also frail, fading relics of that same war. But unlike their beloved ship, they are beyond being restored to their former glory; but must soon go the way of all flesh.

A current commercial depicts an attractive “mature” woman walking down a wooded lane, and the background narrator dubs her supposed words.

“I’m in my 60’s now. But I have a long life ahead of me.”

Every time the commercial plays I automatically respond,

“Uh, no you don’t!” (In all likelihood you’ll join the ranks of the dearly departed in the next 15-20 years).

We simply can’t stay here. Scripture assures us that “it is appointed unto man once to die.” (Hebrews 9:27)

While an inanimate hunk of metal can be repaired and repainted, again and again, there’s simply so much you can do to restore a declining human body to some semblance of function, and for just so long.

Death is a great mystery; the final frontier.

The longer I live, the closer I get, the more I wish to approach that season of my life with few, if any regrets. And God willing, I intend to make amends where amends are possible, to accomplish that which is left to accomplish, to impact those who congregate near the finish line, and to please the One who bore the nail scars in his hands.

The longer I live, the closer I get, the more I find myself looking forward to discovering all that God has prepared for those who love Him. And while death remains a mystery to all who continue to live, and move and breathe, I think we can rest assured that a loving heavenly Father has prepared the way before us, and in that day will give His angels charge over us.

I love those memorable lines from the poem, “Thanatopsis.”

So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, soothed and sustained
By an unfaltering trust. Approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him,

… and lies down to pleasant dreams. (William Cullen Bryant)

 

By William McDonald, PhD. "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 4