Until yesterday I had never (to my knowledge) heard his name. But yesterday my Facebook feed blew up with tributes to this 27-year-old teacher who was tragically killed by a drunk driver.
The words of grief and of tribute stirred my heart deeply.
It appears that everyone in my circle knew him except me. Perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but it felt that way.
I never knew him. But today I am inspired by the life he lived. I am inspired by the words written of him by one of his recently graduated students. I am inspired by the short comments about something he said or a sign he had in his classroom or his attendance at his students’ events. I was moved by the expectations he had of his students and, evidently, of himself.
I don’t have a picture of him to share with you, because none of the pictures belong to me. And I would never intrude of the grief of those still in shock at his passing to request one to use.
I am inspired by the impact one could have if one lives his life from the heart. If one lives his life with passion.
We should all be encouraged that you need neither money nor fame nor a world-wide platform to leave a legacy, to have a lasting impact on others. Randy had none of the former but the latter he had in abundance.
Will that be said of me? of you? We can live our life so that it is.
I wish I had known him. I wish I could look into the smiling face I have seen in post after post after post on my computer. I wish I had a firsthand memory to share.
But I don’t need it to keep the inspiration I have been gifted secondhand alive in my heart and put into practice in my life.
This was absolutely lovely. When Robert wakes up I will have him read it. What a tribute to a life lived for the Lord. I sure hope nice things are said about me when I die. And I will some day.
And they will be said. By many.