Photo taken on 5/22/2012 at the Hagerman Wildlife Refuge in Sherman, TX.

Here are some pictures from our day:

Here’s a shot from 2011

And here’s one from 2010

By the time the bird had transitioned to the other side the kids had already named it Tweet.  Saddened by the death of this little fella, the kids felt that a burial was the only proper way to honor the short life and so last night, after dinner, the kids and I went out  dug a grave & committed the bird to the ground.

And as Missy tucked Lilly in bed last night there was genuine grief about the passing of the bird.  Lilly kept asking how the bird was going to get out of the box when it woke up.  Missy explained several times that the bird wasn’t going to wake up…that it was dead. Dead, dead…not mostly dead, just dead. Lilly reminded Missy that Jesus rose from the dead so why couldn’t the bird.  Sweet girl!

So you can see where this is going:  one gun being given away…two brothers who both wanted it.  Best I can tell the kid that was given the gun was the older of the two.  I overhead the brothers and their conversation went something like this:

• Angry, jaded brother: “I’m telling mom!”
• Happy, pistol holding brother: “What are you going to tell her?  That <insert neighbor kid’s name here> gave me a gun…and your mad that you didn’t get one.”
• Angry, jaded brother: “Yes!!  You already have two Airsoft guns!”

They argued for a while until the angry, jaded brother pulled out a cell phone (what in the world is that kid doing with a cell phone??), called his momma & proceeded to complain to her about the gross injustice he’s been a victim of.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the angry, jaded brother…so bitter & upset at not getting a gift like his brother.

So entitled.

And then I had this horrible, God-awful realization that I must look the exact same way when I complain about the things I don’t get…and whine about the things that other people receive. All weepy, pathetic & ungrateful.

So. Freakin’. Pathetic.

Lord…save me from me!

Good times!

This headstone stood out to me – cracked apart with the broken piece leaning upon its other half. It marked the remains of a man named William Henderson Horn, Sr.  He was born on December 10, 1815 & died on May 1, 1887.  I know very little about this man.  After fifteen minutes online I discovered that at age 24 he married a woman named Elizabeth Carruth and that they had 13 children – Anlizer, Minerva, Robert, James, William, Martha, George, Mildred, Franklin, Eli, Andrew, Clarissa, and Edward (and you thought Missy & I were crazy…).

Other than that brief bit of information I no nothing about Mr. William Henderson Horn, Sr.  He may have been a man of much importance & influence.  He may have been a simple farmer.  He may have had great wealth or perhaps he died penniless.  All I know is that his gravestone is broken in two pieces. All his earthly achievements are gone.  His wealth, if he had any, was dispersed long ago. All that’s left of William Henderson Horn, Sr. is a broken tombstone.

And the same thing will happen to me.

And to you.

The Psalmist had it right, didn’t he.

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. (Psalm 103:15-16).

We are here today…and we are gone tomorrow. This is reality and it makes Jesus’ words all that more important:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

It’s right there – crystal clear. If we focus our time and energy and resources on collecting stuff for the here and now then our whole legacy will be summed up by a broken tombstone.  But if we invest our lives on the things that matter beyond the here and now then, broken tombstone or not, our impact will ring throughout all eternity.

So…let’s deal with the fact that we’re all headed towards a broken tombstone. And let’s wrestle with the question of whether there be anything invested on the other side.