A SHINING EXAMPLE

TODAY: Accept this challenge: "If I should die and leave you here awhile, Be not like others sore undone, who keep Long vigils by the silent dust and weep. For my sake, turn again to life and smile Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine. Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine, And I, perchance, may comfort you."

I believe that God puts certain people in our lives who will have an effect on us and help determine how we live. My stepfather, Bob Lippy, was one of those people. Bob died this past November, and he left a big hole in our lives.

I met Bob (we called him “Pap”) before he and Mom were married. I instantly recognized that he was a warm, caring and understanding person. I was glad that they had found each other to live and enjoy life together.

Whenever we got together, Pap always spoke highly of his three boys and their wives and would describe what each was doing. He kept up with the lives of his many grandchildren and also kept an accurate and ongoing inventory of his many great-grandchildren. He was VERY proud of his family!

I also watched Pap spend time with his Mielke grandchildren as they grew up. He spent hours playing cards, talking about school or attending recitals, graduations and Boy Scout ceremonies. The quality time he had with each was priceless. It seemed that he always had time for each of them. The Mielke grandchildren loved Pap as their own grandfather.

Pap also had his fun side. We took many trips together and spent numerous birthdays, holidays and vacations together. We walked on the beach together, took a plane ride over the misty fjords in Alaska last year and as recently as October, climbed a steep mountain in West Virginia in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

In the 15 years I knew Pap, I never heard him speak a negative word about others. He truly lived the saying: If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, don’t say anything at all. Pap respected your opinion and asked sincere questions. He was genuinely interested in what you were doing. He also was not one to complain about his health or about life in general. That is something when you consider he had both knees replaced at the age of 85! Pap wasn’t concerned about “things.” He had some clothes and his car, and he was happy. What a role model he was.

God did have a plan for putting Bob Lippy into our lives. He was a true example of how a Christian man should live. Pap, we love you!

— Earl Mielke

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist