The Wedding Ring

 

THE WEDDING RING







    This wedding ring belonged to my brother Clark.  His sweet wife Sally gave it to him on their wedding day with the inscription, "You are my sunshine."  I never knew about the inscription before, but when I discovered it a few weeks ago, my heart was warmed, remembering the loving and caring relationship they shared with one another.  They each provided "sunshine" into the life of the other.

     What a wonderful legacy to leave behind -- a legacy of a loving and caring heart, not only to one another, but to all they came in contact with.  Yesterday marked the six-month anniversary of our loss of Clark and Sally.  Although it is a painful loss and we miss them so much, the memory of who they were during their sojourn on this earth is comforting and uplifting.

     Such thoughts make us wonder what sort of legacy are we leaving behind? 

     I'm reminded of the song by Steven Green, "Find Us Faithful."  The verse that talks about our children sifting through all we've left behind, "May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.  Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful."

     That is such a powerful song with such a rich message.  Clark's wedding ring, like the song, has a rich message for me.  To bring sunshine into the lives of others, that's a good and happy thing.  Clark and Sally brought sunshine into my life and rays of sunlight spread around them, touching everyone with whom they came into contact.  They were faithful.

     Today, they are basking in the perfect Sonlight of the Light of the World Himself.  Revelation 21:23 tells us that in heaven, "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."  I'm heartened to know, that as the song says, Clark and Sally are now among the "cloud of witnesses" in heaven, "Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary, their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace."

     As we carry on in this world, our challenge is to bring sunshine, not shadows, into the lives of those around us.  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:16.