"Well done My good and faithful servant"

Those are the words all of us would love to hear at the end of our days here on earth. As we stand in judgement and wait for God to see if we have our name written in the Great Book of Life, then hear Him say those words to us, "Well done!" What comfort that will bring to our ears.

Recently a great friend of mine, Don Nay, passed away. I was probably more of a friend to his wife, Nancy than I was of Don. Both had been in Crothersville as long as I can remember and Nancy was the one who hired me at my current job with the Town.

Nancy was a joy to work with and taught me numerous things not only about the business of the Town but numerous things about Life. When Nancy came to work each morning, as she opened the door to the Town Hall she would speak in her loud and clear voice, "Good morning!" It did not matter what was on your mind, if something had you pre-occupied you quickly forgot all about it by just hearing the joy of her 'good mornings'. I sure miss those days.

Don would come in from time to time to check on us girls and make sure we didn't need anything. If we did need something, you never heard a complaint from Don, he would go get whatever you needed or do whatever needed to be done. Don never got in a hurry, but he did get several things accomplished.

I remember several stories Nancy would tell me about Don and his family. One that comes to mind quite often is Don's mother never told Don she loved him. This made Don more determined than ever to not let his kids grow up without knowing he loved them. At Don's funeral, the minister spoke of this and of Don's love for his children and how he often expressed it to his kids. From what I learned from Don, not only did he love his kids, he loved everyone and he loved life!

Funerals are suppose to be celebrations of the life of the individual. We should be celebrating the eternity the individual is spendng with their Savior Jesus Christ. Don's funeral was just that, a celebration of his life.

Don's nephew Gary, his sister-in-law Becky and his brother-in-law Dean spoke, sang and played music at Don's funeral. Don had written a letter prior to his death and the letter was printed in the program. Don wrote, "If I could talk with you today, I'd want you to know that I valued your friendship. . . but I want you to know about my most precious friend. You may remember me as a 'good person', but I want you to know that all my goodness is a result of my relationship with Jesus Christ. . . now in death I am more alive than ever. . . I am at home in heaven with my greatest friend. . .I love you and look forward to spending eternity with you. Meet me just inside the pearly gates. I'll take you for a drive on those glorious streets of gold." The note was signed, Love, Don.

Knowing Don, he is there waiting at those pearly gates for his next friend to enter. I hope he has to wait on me for a long time, but I do pray I make it there someday. At my funeral, I hope my family and friends can celebrate my life and know, without a doubt, I am waiting on them at the pearly gates. Don will be missed by all those that knew him. If you were one of the lucky ones who got to meet him, you know you will never forget him, his smile, his love for his family and his love for his Savior.

I take comfort in knowing, without a doubt, Don IS in heaven with our Greatest Friend. I am sure Don's name is in the Book of Life and he heard the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."