One Foot In Heaven
March 07, 2007
Last month, I was sitting in an old Presbyterian church listening to a minister preach at the funeral for a 95-year old parishoner. The deceased had been an active member of the congregation who had been widowed young, never had children and had devoted her life to serving her church and her service organization.
The minister challenged those gathered to celebrate the deceased's life to recognize that she had lived her life with one foot in heaven. She served her church. She served others. She prayed for--and waited for--God to call her home. The deceased had lived her life as if she already had one foot in heaven.
I sat in the pew considering the miniser's message. How would I live my life differently if I had one foot in heaven? How would those of us gathered at the funeral live differently if we lived our lives in service to others? Are we as a faithful people ready to pray for and wait for God to take us home?
At Carroll, the message of serving others is an important part of the education we offer as a small, residential college. By living with others, we learn more about the needs of others. By learning with others, we learn other perspectives than our own when it comes to our plans for work, service, passions and relationships in life. I believe we have many examples among our faculty, staff and students of women and men who live as if they have one foot in heaven. Their example in our community is certainly inspiring and challenging. JDH
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About Dr. Hardwick
Dr. Hardwick has been the Vice President for Student Life at Carroll since 2002. He brings to Carroll 20 years of experience working in higher education. Learn more about him!