Kennedy's Eulogy

(Kennedy is our middle son. A recent Baylor graduate, he is living at home while he job hunts.)

My dad used to always come home from a business trip with pieces of double-bubble wedged behind each ear. As a little kid, I thought I had struck gold. Whenever we saw my dad pull into the driveway, we ran to the window in anticipation. We knew that bubble gum was going to be behind his ear. He’d walk into the house and we’d be standing there looking up at what seemed to be a thirty foot giant. He’d bend down and let us take the gum from his ears and we were content. We weren’t content because we had our candy, we were content because our dad was home. And as I stand here now I am as content as I once was because I know that my dad is home.

One of my greatest memories of my dad is the excitement we shared when it came to sports. My dad had a line he’d use when something good happened. I can remember watching football downstairs and our team would score and I’d feel the ground shake as all 220 lbs of my dad came running into my room and he’d bust through the door and yell, “he got it!” Later, when Stinson was playing varsity football, I drove up for a weekend to watch one of his games. I stood there in the stands with my dad and each time Stin would complete a pass or throw for a touchdown on cue, my dad would yell “he got it!” This infamous phrase would follow me to college. On any given Saturday and Sunday, it’s a safe bet that my dad and I would be watching football in our respective locations. And, as sure as the sun rises, on any spectacular play my phone would ring. I wouldn’t have to check the caller ID because I knew who it was and I would greet him with his own words, “he got it!”…”he got it!”

My dad got it. My dad got life. My dad knew what it meant to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. My dad could see the needs of people and he knew how to meet them. My dad got what it meant to be a father and husband as he would stop at nothing to satisfy his family. My dad got what it meant to be a friend as he never once considered himself before another. Even in his last days, when being selfish would be the most justified, it wasn’t himself or his condition on his mind. It was others and what he could do for someone else. He got it. When my dad reached heaven I don’t for one second believe that god said “well done my good and faithful servant.” Instead, I know he came busting around the corner, arms wide open, yelling “he got it!”

My dad embraced life. I can remember one year during Christmas, he narrated the part of Peter for our church. All I remember is one line, “I’m Peter, the rock!” It seemed as though for weeks and weeks those were the only words he know as he would pace the house saying “I’m Peter, the rock.” The other night I was thinking of my favorite bible story concerning Peter as he was shackled to a wall in chains. And it was his faith that set the chains free. Peter knew what it meant to embrace life and whatever it brought, and that full embrace let him fully experience life.

My dad shares Peter’s embrace of life. He fully embraced life and when cancer seemed to hold him captive, his faith set him free and he was able to experience life to the fullest. In his last few months, cancer never once bound his wrists and held him prisoner. They fell right off and my dad’s faith prevailed. Throughout my dad’s life, he was handed some pretty heavy chains, and every time his faith set him free.

I know my dad is physically gone, but I know that who he is lives on. If you want to know my dad, know me; know my brothers; know my mom. One of the most powerful things about God is his ability to transcend. He transcends time, space, life, and death. He transcends, because to each one of us, we are given a legacy and that legacy will extend far beyond life. My dad left a legacy that lives on in my family. His legacy was so powerful that it lives on in everyone here. If you want to continue to know my dad, know the impact he made in your life.

I’ll continue to experience my dad as I live a life that he helped mold. The next time I meet the need of a friend, I’ll say “that’s my dad.” The next time I give extra attention to the kid who doesn’t have much parental support, I’ll say “that’s my dad.” When I have a family and am able to fully love them to a point where “inconveniences” do not exist I will say, “that’s my dad.” The first time I teach my kids the smallest details of life, I’ll say “that’s my dad.” Loving those whom others turn away from, giving with a servants heart, enjoying every second that life gives, truly investing in relationships (for years in college, I thought I knew what it meant to really invest in someone’s life. I had barley skimmed the surface. My dad took me deeper in my knowledge of knowing and loving people) those things are my dad. The next time I pat someone knowing the true power there is in a touch, I’ll say “that’s my dad.” And the next time I accidentally blind carbon copy an email joke to the wrong person, I’ll say “that’s my dad.”

Understand that a life lived for one’s self will bear no fruit, but a life like my dad’s; a life that is lived for Christ doing “kingdom work” is a life that will produce a legacy to extend far beyond generations. My dad left this world, but more importantly he left something for this world. My dad has touched many lives and we are all changed for being in his presence. Who my dad was will surpass many generations. Lives will be different 50 years from now because my dad helped pay bills when money was tight, he helped finance a honeymoon, he encouraged someone who felt alone, or he just simply sat down for some ice cream with someone. My dad’s life will overflow for generations to come. So, my challenge is to take those things and live life. Embrace life and what it brings. Let your faith set you free. Live for each moment, and love people. Do that, and you got it!