Eighteen years ago today, my father, Edward T. Britton, who was also my best friend, passed away at 7:52 a.m. More than 1,100 people attended his Celebration Service to honor a life well lived. Throughout his journey with leukemia, he always talked about God's goodness, God's greatness and God's graciousness.
One of my dad's favorite verses he quoted often was Psalm 116:12: "How can I repay the Lord for His goodness to me?" He was so thankful for his life and God's rich blessings.
His faith never wavered through the entire sickness, which lasted almost two years! He never asked why God let this happen to him. Not once. He said that he did not have the right to ask. Instead he asked, "What?" He asked what the Lord wanted him to learn through this trial. He stayed the course. He maintained the mission!
He was totally focused on finishing well. Every time I called him during the last two months of life to ask how he was doing he would say, "Contending." It was his way to say that he was fighting the good fight; running the right race. His focus can be best described by a journal entry he wrote on his CaringBridge site on January 25, 2008: "I continue serving and marching with the King daily. I'm absolutely convinced that I'm able to convey this positive update due to the serious and ongoing prayers of all of you! I am enjoying daily the final laps of my 'retirement.' May HE be ever present in your daily lives, starting with a serious quiet time in the mornings."
My dad lived every second of the day as if it was his last. Not just when he became sick, but throughout his entire life. He would always say, "Life is God's gift to us. What we do with it is our gift back to Him." He desired to repay the Lord with the way he lived his life. That became his life ambition! What a great challenge for us who still have life.
"Lord, I give to You my entire being - every action and decision, all my hopes and dreams, my thoughts and talk. I surrender it all back to You. May my life be a gift that brings You pleasure."
I wrote about my father in our men’s devotional, “Daily Wisdom for Men.”