Its Good to Be Alive

I attended the funeral today of a dear friend who recently died after a long and difficult battle with cancer. I was privileged to be a pall bearer and a member of the choir that sang some of her favorite hymns at the service celebrating her life of Christ-like love, selfless service, and exemplary endurance to the end of her mortal life. I think it says quite a bit about her to know that in planning her own funeral, she selected the upbeat "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today" as the opening hymn.

She and her husband are close friends and wonderful examples to me. I want to eventually go where she has gone and be with her and those like her in God's presence. For her, each day of the last years of her life was a struggle which she met with courage and faith. Even though I and many others will miss her, I am grateful that she has finally been released from her years of pain. For her, the time came to graduate to a better place. The closing hymn was "God Be With You Til We Meet Again". Until the time comes that I hopefully do qualify to meet her again and be in her presence, it is good to be alive. Even though we have hope and faith and a sure conviction and many testimonies that something much better than this life awaits all of us, here and now, for us, it is good to be alive...even though each of us encounters in various times and degrees the "opposition in all things" that the Book of Mormon teaches "must needs be".

I know of no better example of this than Jack Rushton. Several decades ago when we lived in a different part of Orange County, he was a member of our Stake Presidency and one of the best leaders and teachers I have ever encountered. I loved attending a series of classes on Servant-Leadership he taught. He was eventually called by the Lord to serve as president of that stake. Then he suffered a spinal cord injury while body surfing with family members that left him a quadriplegic. Although he had many difficult adjustments, both physical and mental, his journey through the refiner's fire helped him become an even more compassionate and inspirational man, who is able to laugh at himself and make others feel at ease when they are around the sometimes uncomfortable situation of people with physical disabilities. He inspires and motivates people to press forward in faith through their challenges. He now serves as our stake patriarch!

I invite you to watch 10 minutes of excerpts of his "sit-down" comedy routine and motivational talk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3HnUfqCBfc

If you like his style, you might want to read his inspirational blog:
http://observationsbyjack.blogspot.com/