As I mentioned in my previous post, in the past seventeen years I’ve officiated at more than 150 funerals. I quickly discovered an unusual phenomenon. While I expected there to be plenty of tears during the service and luncheon that followed, I was initially surprised by the frequent gales of laughter.
After being married for sixty years, my father is now beginning life as a widower. He doesn’t use email or text, so I’ve been sending him a letter or so each week. I dropped off the latest at the Post Office over the noon hour.
Dad,
The story is told of an old man who sat down to lunch with a young friend.
The two had become acquainted a few years earlier at work and became close as time went on.
The young man frequently asked the old man for his advice but he consistently refused to give it.
“I don’t have any wisdom to dispense,” he would say, sometimes with a smile, and sometimes with just a tilt of his bald head.
The young man persisted until his old friend finally gave in.
“I have one—and only one—piece of advice to share: These days, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. So, I do both.”
Love, Brian
Along with the note that I sent to my dad, I included several pages of little gems that I’ve collected over the years:
Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
All too often, a clear conscience is merely the result of a bad memory.
Never give the devil a ride, he will always want to drive.
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.
Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell.
A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it is a forgery.
Many a person thinks that they have an open mind about a subject when it's merely vacant.
Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
It is better to work with the construction gang, than with the wrecking crew.
To do the will of God is the greatest achievement in life.
Blame yourself as you would blame others.
Even a woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head.
Blessed is he who, having nothing to say, refrains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.
The man who sings his own praises always gets the wrong pitch.
The greatest act of faith is when man decides he is not God.
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
Some people reach the top of the ladder of success only to find it is leaning against the wrong wall.
True faith and courage are like a kite. An opposing wind raises it higher.
Too many people quit looking for work when they find a job.
A drowning man does not complain about the size of a life preserver.
Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.
If you can't help a hundred people then just help one the best you can.
If at first you don't succeed, try reading the instructions.
Decisions can take you out of God's will but never out of His reach.
Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into their nest.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
A blind man who sees is better than a seeing man who is blind.
The trouble with stretching the truth is that it's apt to snap back.
Anyone can hold the helm of a ship when the sea is calm.
It is impossible for a man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.
Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.
Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous. The traffic from both sides knocks you down.
Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.
You can't act like a skunk without someone getting wind of it.
Consider the turtle, he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.
Some minds are like finished concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
The grass may look greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed.
People who try to whittle you down are only trying to reduce you to their size.
Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there.
It isn't hard to make a mountain out of a molehill. Just keep adding a little dirt.
If you feel "dog tired" at night, maybe it's because you "growled" all day!
Real friends are those who, when you have made a fool of yourself, don't feel you have done a permanent job.
God can heal a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces.
Pick your friends, but not to pieces.
Ignorance is always swift to speak.
Jesus is a friend who knows all your faults and still loves you anyway.
Contentment isn't getting what we want but being satisfied with what we have.
A man who cannot laugh at himself will soon have others who will.
Humor is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles.
Love the tidbits of wisdom. My dad, when he retired 20 years ago, stopped doing email, but I just call. I like the idea of a letter
This letter will put a smile on any Father 🙏
I know because it worked for me!
The Lord be with your Father