A Great Lesson

On Monday & Tuesday I was able to go back to Utah for the funeral of a good man, friend and brother in so many ways. These experiences help us to come back to what is important in life.

One such lesson came this week while I was in the home of a dear friend from Bulgaria. He is 87 now and lived a life of service to God and his fellow man. He spent most of his life as a Parish Priest in the Orthodox Church and spent his life always searching for more Light and happiness. He was expelled from his homeland by the Communist Government for standing for his beliefs and principles when his children were 15 and 18 and eventually came to America as a political refugee - the goverment kept his children behind. In his search for more Light and happiness, he met two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who shared with him the message of the restored gospel. Through a sacred experience he gained a personal witness that the message was true and joined the church. As a result, he lost his job and income and spent the remainder of his life making a meager wage, supporting his wife and sponsoring his children for a reunification that took decades.

His dear wife passed away several years ago and he has since been left alone in his home, a prisoner of his own four walls daily craving a kind word and visit from the few good friends he has.

Over the years we have come to love this dear man. We had him in our home for dinner on several occasions and visited in his home many more. In every instance, whether he was the guest or we were, he would find something to give us. Sometimes the gifts were selections from his wife's jewelry box, other times they were blankets, pillows, rugs, jelly beans or cookies. Over the years, I noticed that Peter's house was becoming more and more bare as people would come to see this dear old man.

The lesson came to me on Monday, after the funeral as I stopped by to see my friend. He warmly welcomed me into his home. As I looked at the same house I had been in so many times and at the same couches I noticed that the walls were more bare than before, the entertainment center all but empty, the blankets that once draped the couches were no longer there and the cushions on his couch were gone. I knew at once that they had become gifts for someone or some family as a token of his love for them.

We talked about his children and mine and shared the love that exists between brothers and friends. The time had arrived for me to go and as I did he said, "No wait, let me give you something to remember me by..." I could tell that he didn't know what to give me because he had nothing left to give. I protested and told him how I could never forget him and that his kindness to us has been a great enough gift. He said as he raised his hand to quiet me... "No, I know just the thing." He slowly made his way to his bedroom and pulled off his dresser one Christmas card from a friend to him that had a child on the front, a card with a beautiful gold cross on the front and a small, 3x5 framed image of Christ appearing to Mary after His resurrection. He warmly gave these to me and said, "Here, take these to remember me." My heart was touched to nearly overflowing. It was hard to contain myself.

Here was a man who, having nothing, yet found things to give. His home, empty of all valuable possessions, is full of love and gratitude for those things that matter most - not gold, silver, fine art, china, or furniture - but people and his own righteous life of love and sacrifice for God. Those are the possessions that money cannot buy and that luxery cannot compensate for the lack of. In that sense, he was richer than a King. This was the lesson: to be like him - freely giving from my heart all I have and am and holding nothing back and to know that true wealth is not the sum of value of our possessions but the sum of the love which we share. I know from my own experience that when I do, I amazingly discover gifts of greater value - even priceless gifts: love, peace, knowledge and understanding.

It is my hope that you and I can give ourselves in the service of God and of each other.

How could I forget such a good man?