*BREAKING NEWS*

It has been a long time since I have written a blog, in spite of the many requests from those of you that actually read my blog.  I think between school, work, life, and more, I have failed to take time to prayerfully consider a blog.  However, recent events have motivated me to spend some time reflecting on the week’s events.

Do you remember that kid in school that everybody picked on and made fun of and who really didn’t have any friends?  You know, the kid that never got invited to parties, never had a girlfriend, and sat by themselves or with the same one or two people at lunch?  Well, that kid was me.  Junior High and Senior High School was particularly tough for me as I was the kid that didn’t have many friends and often was the victim of what we now call bullying.  I can count on one hand, the number of people that were genuinely kind to me.  Not knowing any better, I just assumed it was part of life and made the best that I could of it.  I do not mind sharing with you that I have struggled with those  scars most of my life including my refusal to attend either of my class reunions.   However, this blog is not about me; it’s about somebody else.

Undoubtedly, many of you have read, watched, or heard about the recent passing of Laurie Lomax Patton.  In reading many of the posts on Facebook, it is obvious that she impacted so many lives in so many positive ways, including mine.  In High School, Laurie was a popular girl who hung around the other popular kids, but that is where the similarities of the popular kids stopped.  Laurie was genuinely kind to everybody no matter their social status, style, age, friends, or anything else.  As an adult, I did not have a lot of contact with Laurie directly, but because of her being, “kin folk”, my  Mom kept up with her.  It came as no surprise to hear that she had not changed a bit from her co-workers and students alike during her funeral today.  In fact, it is safe to say that Laurie was an inspiration to all she came in contact with, young and old.  With the loss of such a wonderful person, one might ask, “Why would God take such a wonderful person?”  This is not the first time I have faced this question as I had the same question when my good friend Ike Brissey passed away unexpectedly.  So, I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the matter.

The bible is very clear that all of us will die; sooner or later, we will die (Hebrews 9:27).  Good, bad, or indifferent, we will die.  Then why is it that we are so adversely impacted when somebody like Laurie unexpectedly passes?  I think we can compare it to news stories.  If you watch the news, the leading stories are almost always something extraordinary, or, “Breaking News”.  Think about it!  When was the last time a break-in at a home was the leading story on any news outlet or for that matter, any part of the news at all?  Unfortunately, these crimes do not make headline news because it has become the norm.  Likewise, when an average person passes, it impacts  the immediate family, but fails to make breaking news.  Laurie, like my good friend Ike, were the images of Matthew Chapter 5 in every aspect of their life.  They were extraordinary and their passing was like the breaking news stories on the evening news simply because they were extraordinary.  They put others above themselves and strived to make a difference in every person they came in contact with.  You see, they exemplified a life of Christ.  As a result, their loss is extremely difficult to deal with and understand.

So this should be our lesson.  If one person can have the impact that Laurie and Ike had, what kind of impact would 10 of us have?  What about 20, 50, 100, or better yet, all of us?  My challenge to each of you that have read to this point is to live a life worthy of such an epitaph (the stuff they write on your tombstone).  Live the life that encourages everybody you come in contact with and makes them want to be like you, or more importantly, like Christ.  In other words, would your death be, “Breaking News”?