His was a life well-lived

Vernell G. Kvale - born September 30, 1931; died September 30, 2010. A complete life. His was a life well-lived.

I am thanking God today for the life of one of my favorite uncles. For the love he showed to me throughout his life, and for the inspiration he's been to me ever since his death.

Although it is usually ill-timed, we tend to appreciate someone we have loved and admired even more after they are already gone. I wonder why that is? Why do we tend to get so preoccupied with our own lives and our own affairs so much that we forget to honor those among us who have lived their lives well, and have blessed us (and others) immensely?

I don't have the answer to my own question. But, I can tell you this. Attending my uncle's funeral recently impacted me greatly. His was a life well-lived.

My Uncle Vernell lived most of his life in Lake Mills, Iowa. Except for a couple of years spent farming with my Dad following high school, and two years of active duty service in the United States Army following that, this small town of a few thousand people was his home. I admire the simplicity and wholesomeness that represents. I also admire the fact that he appeared to be perfectly content with living in the same community his entire life.

He married my Aunt Violet in 1956. That means that they were into their 55th year of marriage at his death. I admire the faithfulness and longevity that represents. He loved her greatly and it showed! A testimony to his incredible love for her and his thinking of her needs all the way to the end was this story told to me by his son following the funeral. My aunt's birthday was just a week after his. So, a few weeks before he died when he was being taken to hospice, he made sure that his son purchased a birthday card and gift from him so that it would be there and given to her in case he wasn't around to give it to her himself. His was a life well-lived.

He was a loving and dedicated father to four living children, two daughters and two sons. He loved them greatly and it showed! He was also grandfather to four young grandchildren whom he loved dearly and they loved him back. I admire the commitment and dedication to others that represents. Another story told at the funeral conveyed the mutual love shared between my uncle and his grandchildren. When his life was coming to a close and he was already very weak and at hospice, one of his granddaughters really wanted to be with him, missing his tender, loving touch. So unprompted, she crawled up in the hospital bed with him to snuggle. Even though in a terribly weakened state, he still wrapped his arm around her as they lay there together quietly for several minutes. His was a life well-lived.

As to his vocations in life, he was a farmer, a manager of the Lake Mills Creamery, and a custodian at the Lake Mills Community School. Following his official retirement about thirteen years ago, he continued to perform some part-time carpentry with a friend and assisted various farmers in his community with their harvests. I admire the hard work ethic and lifetime productivity that represents. Knowing that he would eventually lose his battle with cancer after fighting it for ten years, he actively participated in the planning of his own funeral service. Because of his genuine love for children at the school where he was custodian for ten years, he requested a choir from the school sing at his service. And they did. It was an absolutely wonderful and refreshing patriotic tribute to America. His was a life well-lived.

Finally, nearest and dearest to my heart is the fact that my uncle was a writer, and a believer in Jesus Christ.

As to his writing, throughout his life he wrote prose and poetry and shared many of his original writings at Memorial Day and Veterans' Day ceremonies. With only a simple high school education, he also wrote meaningful pieces for friends and family in his community, blessing them at birthday or retirement celebrations.

As to his Christian faith, it was obvious to me from words spoken at the funeral that my uncle had a deep and abiding faith in Christ. The pastor who conducted the services reflected on numerous conversations with my uncle and communicated effectively some intimate references to assurance of my uncle's salvation and personal relationship with Christ.

Yes, his was a life well-lived. Thank you, Uncle Vernell.

May we all express our love and openly appreciate someone we admire while they are still living.

I absolutely LOVE Texas Rangers baseball!

If you know anything about me, you probably already know that I absolutely LOVE Texas Rangers baseball! I love almost everything about it! And, this year, my love for this team may payoff in new ways as "my team" is actually going to the playoffs! Yay! And, hopefully they will go deep in the playoffs! Hopefully...

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, we went to a Rangers game at the Ballpark in Arlington (we also went to another game on my birthday, and are going to their final game of the season again today, too!). At that game, I told my sweet wife, Ellen, that I wanted to write down all the various experiences of a Rangers game so that I could blog about it later. Why shouldn't everyone who reads this blog learn more about one of my absolute favorite things? :-)

So, here's a portion of my list of experiences so that you all can better understand why I absolutely LOVE Texas Rangers baseball:

• Even as you enter/approach the stadium, there are the nicest people who greet you with a smile and say, "Welcome to the Ballpark!" I love that.
• I'm normally not much of a "groupie" type guy, but I love it that almost everyone wears Rangers shirts/gear to the games.
• I love seeing all the young kids at Rangers games! They are usually so happy and smiling and just delighted to be there with their parents/grandparents (well, at least most of them are!).
• I love the neatly manicured grass of the field and how the maintenance crews spray down the infield with water, getting it to look picture perfect before play begins.
• They usually have a ceremonial first pitch, giving one special person the privilege of having his or her moment in the sun. I love that! The other night it was a boy who was born without arms. He made the first pitch! He threw the ball with his foot. The ball actually made it to the catcher's glove, too! Amazing! What a thrill for that boy. He'll never forget that, I'm sure.
• I love the excitement of the crowd as the announcer gives the starting line-ups for "Your Texas Rangers!"
• I get chills up and down my spine as The Star Spangled Banner is played, and we all remove our caps, stand in attention gazing at the flag and salute our country.
• I love it that you can still bring your own food/drinks into the Ballpark if you want to. We (well, actually it's Ellen!) usually pack a lot of snacks and eat way more than we should. But, it's baseball, for goodness sake!
• I love the video board and highlights from previous games. And, they always show the "positives" from those games, never the "negatives."
• I love that they have short clips of songs for each Rangers batter as they come up to the plate. I love it that several of the Rangers have Christian songs/messages for their clip.
• When you are at a baseball game, you get a chance to sit outside for three plus hours. Most of the time it is really glorious to be out there enjoying the fresh air and cool evening breezes.
• At certain points in the game, the organist will play certain little songs/chords that help get the crowd fired up again and cheering for the Rangers. I love that!
• I love the fact that you can just sit there for three plus hours if you want to and watch the game and/or the people around you and/or the video board and not say anything if you don't want to. To me, baseball is a lot like what other people might enjoy about fishing.
• I love it that they shoot off fireworks when a Rangers player hits a home run.
• I love the fact that even though individual players probably can't hear us when we yell encouragement to them from the stands, we still do it anyway. It creates a constant murmur and/or buzz in the crowd, and that's just baseball.
• Being at Rangers games is still very much a family-friendly activity. I love that! It is still an affordable form of entertainment, there are lots and lots of activities for kids (like one of my favorites, the Longball Blast), and you can simply just enjoy being together during the games without any pressure to be involved in anything else.
• I love the "bump music" between most innings and the standard favorite of singing of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (complete with clapping) around the 5th inning.
• Who doesn't like the Dot Race? And who doesn't slip back into being a kid again for just a minute while those silly people dressed up as dots run? I love that.
• I love it that they play Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" when the opposing pitcher is in trouble and "give him the boot" when he leaves the game.
• I love the "Stealing Third Base" moment when some kid gets a chance to run like mad to try and steal the base (literally) and make it back to where he or she started before time is up. Plus, if they do it (and a lot of grace is usually extended for this), they get to take that base home with them. How cool!
• I love it that the Rangers still have Dollar Hot Dog nights. Not a big fan of hot dogs myself, but they are so much a part of baseball. And, only a buck for one of those things? What a bargain!
• I love singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch and then dancing to "Cotton-Eyed Joe" after that. It gets everyone up on their feet moving and smiling and getting their groove on! Even me!
• When they do it, I love the "Kiss Cam" during breaks between innings late in the game. So fun to see the cameras catch couples unexpectedly and then watch them kiss (or not if the couple happens to not be a couple and only on their first date! Ha.)
• In some ballparks they have someone sing "God Bless America" after the 7th inning also. Love that song!
• And finally, at the ballpark you sometimes end up talking with the people around you during the game and nearly become friends by the time 9 innings are over. How many places does that occur these days?

So, that's a little bit about why I absolutely LOVE Texas Rangers baseball! I hope the Rangers play well into October, and can I even dream that they make it all the way to the World Series?

My biggest concern now is: What am I going to do from November through March without baseball?

I absolutely LOVE Texas Rangers baseball!