Ode to a Mischief Maker

Two weeks ago today, one of the best mischief makers God ever created, died suddenly 'with his boots on'.  It has been a difficult time.  One filled with memories of the mischief maker, the memories of the mischief, and mourning.  This medley of gladness and sadness seems to hit us in waves keeping us slightly off kilter, uncertain of the emotion of the next moment, uncertain of our visceral response to the emotions.  For the first time I truly understand the phrase 'wracked by sobs', that grief that wrings out your insides and has a voice you never knew before.

The mischief maker was the supreme organizer of Operation Prank which was an annual event designed to delight children and cause their mothers anxiety.   There were too many pranks to even begin to mention them, but Greg and our kids were involved in many of them and they have been  reminiscing on the fun they had.  The mischief maker's wife said many times that "a father's job was to entertain kids, a mother's job was to keep them all alive".  They were a good pair, the mischief maker and his wife.

One of the hundreds of people who attended the memorial service said "he filled up a room" and in many ways that person was right.  The mischief maker was one of those rare people who seemed to excel at everything they set their mind to.  Sometimes you would wonder what God had been thinking in putting all that talent into one person.  But maybe if your plan is to only give them fifty years on earth you need to create a person who can do twice as much as the rest of us in half the time.  That would be the mischief maker.

The felling of over 70 trees on our property was done under the direction of the mischief maker who was also an able woodsman.  Once those trees were down, he and Greg invested in a portable saw mill so they could turn the huge pines into usable lumber.  Our fireplace mantel was crafted by the mischief maker, I guess that makes him a carpenter too.  He enjoyed playing with wood, I don't believe he ever thought of it as work.

Despite all the great memories, this leaves a huge hole in many lives, not just ours.  That's the wonder of living so fully, you touch many along the way.  More importantly, the mischief maker knew his Maker and had an unshakeable belief in God's love.  That belief didn't exist under a mushroom in the dark.  The mischief maker lived it everyday and all who knew him, knew that he knew God.  One morning this week as we found ourselves caught again in a wave of sadness, Matt noticed a rainbow over the swake.  In the beauty of the dawn, we were all reminded of God's promise to love and care for each of us.  May God love and care for you this coming week as Creation Calls

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