Finishing well

Eddie Boersma died last week at the age of 97 1/2. That means nothing to 97.5% of you, but it means a lot to me and anyone else associated with YMCA Camp Pendalouan in Montague. When Stacy and I were camp counselors together at Camp Pendalouan in the mid-80s (yes, another camp romance), Eddie was working at the camp at the ripe old age of 72. To a 21-year-old like me, he seemed ancient already then! He was so filled with energy that when he hiked with the kids (which was often) we all had a hard time keeping up with him! I was amazed to return to the US last year and find out that Eddie was still alive, and in fact had been involved with the camp until he was in his mid 90s. What a blessing he was to so many over his 60+ years of selfless work with young people!

Eddie’s life reminds me of the message of John Piper in his book "Don't Waste your Life." I'll let him summarize: “Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life.”

Eddie Boersma didn’t embrace that tragic dream, and I don’t want to embrace it either. Though I’m still far from retirement, I can see even now how easy it is to get caught up in myself and my own needs. We are blessed to be surrounded at Providence by countless people who have chosen to spend their lives wisely, investing their time, energy, and money into God’s Kingdom; people who don’t see retirement or wealth as opportunities for selfish gain, but as opportunities for investing in others. To all of you, I say thank you for not wasting your lives, but instead, like Eddie, making a difference in the lives of so many. Those of us looking on are inspired by your selfless devotion to God, his people, and Christian education.