Erica* woke up on the morning of October 12th* just like she had on many other mornings. It was a rainy morning but the responsibility of a full-time job beckoned her to her place of employment. She took her ‘usual’ route to work on this very ‘usual’ day. As she changed lanes on the slippery parkway, the wheels of her car left the road and she was killed immediately. Erica was young, newly married, expecting her first child, loved the Lord, and was a servant at the core of her heart. When our family got the news of her sudden death, we were shaken and disbelief filled our hearts. It was a ‘usual’ Wednesday morning, how could something so ‘unusual’ happen to such an ‘unusually’ kind person.
As I sat in my grief on the metro on my way to the church to be with the family on this now ‘unusual’ Wednesday evening, I began to write in my journal- my letters to God. In my letters to God, it is a time for me to write to my Father and bare my soul in His presence. It’s a place where I can lay it all on the line before Him – every joy, every pain, every hurt, and every other thing of concern or praise in my life. As I wrote through the pain that evening, I told God that I didn’t understand how He could take someone so young, so kind-hearted, so loving and newly-married. After pouring out my heart and hurt before my Father, my journal entry ended just as so many others had before – in praise to God. As I closed my journal, I began to see Erica’s face in my mind. The only word that came to my mind was the word servant. Immediately during that thought, I cracked my Bible open and it opened without any work from me to page 1141. At the top of this page, the index read ‘Not to be served, but to serve.’ As I looked down at the verses, I saw Mark 10:45 which reads “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” At that very moment, God spoke something so beautiful into my heart. He whispered to my soul that Erica’s life was about service. She loved hard and served everyone she knew just as hard. When you saw her, she was always in a position of serving. God spoke to me that she had fulfilled her time here on this earth. She came to serve. He told me to be joyful for her because though the circumstances of her death felt tragic, He was promoting her into His arms and into eternity with Him. Like the servant in the parable of the ten talents (Matthew 25:23), the Lord was pleased with Erica’s service and said ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” As short-lived as it may have seemed to me, Erica lived a full life because she lived fulfilling her purpose to serve.
In juvenile football, I was once told a story about a little boy named Darius whose father would yell from the sideline, “Darius, leave it all out on the field! Leave it all out on the field!” Simply put this dad was telling his child that when the game is over, he shouldn’t have to look back at the game with regrets of what he should have done. Put all you’ve got into that game without fear, reservation, or regret. When I look back over Erica’s life, I believe she left it all out on the field. That is, she gave her all in this life. She understood the power of love, service, and commitment. As her pastor said, she and her husband attained in 2 years of marriage what some who have been married for 25 years have yet to achieve.
What about you? Are you leaving it all out on the field? When you look over your life, especially in your marriage, do you have any regrets? Can you move past the disagreements, hurts, and challenges in your marriage to love with your whole heart – without apprehension and reservation? No matter what mistakes have been made, will you trust God to allow Him to move you to the place of destiny for your marriage, family, and your God-given purpose. The great thing about Erica is that she received Christ as her personal Savior. She never knew that this ‘unusual’ day was coming her way and neither did we. My friend, you really don’t know what lies ahead of you or your family. The good thing is that if you are reading this, you still have this very moment to commit to leading a life of obedience, service, and love. If you have not already, you still have this very moment to accept Christ into your life. It’s only through Him that you can live a life full of purpose, selflessness, and joy. The emptiness that you feel in your heart is one that your spouse, your job, or material things can never fill. It’s why you’re always on the go and searching for something more in life.
For each of us, I believe our Heavenly Father, like Darius’ father, is on the sidelines of each of our lives shouting for us to hear, ‘Leave it all out on the field! Leave it all out on the field! Serve like you’ve never served. Love like you’ve never loved. Commit to living your life in a way that will leave a legacy that speaks for itself.’
*Name and date changed to allow family time for healing process and privacy.
well said…