tattednproud

My dad wrote this this morning and e-mailed it to everyone in our family and close friends. All I can say is...wow!



The body of President Ronald Reagan has just left Andrews Air Force Base and is at this moment on what commentators are calling "his final trip home", by which they mean California. We know that his final trip home occurred last Saturday when he joined his, and our, God.

Not long after he was shot, he was asked by his Pastor, "How do you know you are going to heaven?". His response was the most accurate I have ever heard: "Because I have a savior".

Here was a man who accomplished more than most others, arguably more than any other, of his generation; a man who all along the way gave all the credit to God; a man who was beloved and honored by millions; a man who would have every excuse to give the more common and self-centered but less true answer "because I believe", or even worse, the completely wrong "because I am good, and do good works".

Reagan's answer shows how close he was to God. His private and public life is an example of the success and honor that such closeness to God and personal humility can bring. Ronald Reagan undertook to do things that were difficult beyond the ability of any man, and accomplished them. He many huge risks without experiencing failure. Neither of these can be done unless there is a heavenly force at work.

He was well known to pray frequently in any and every situation. He was a public Christian without embarrassment or restriction in an environment where such behavior had been unseen since the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Behavior that could well have cost him a second term in office, and did result in his being continuously attacked by those, particularly in the press and entertainment business, who hate our Savior and what He stands for. What an example for all of us.

President Reagan called San Diego his "Lucky City". He called it that because he was there on the eves of his successful runs for Governor and both of his Presidential elections. It was there that I saw him up close for the only time. It was the eve of his second Presidential election day, I cut a class to be there, and it became one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was clear to me that he was greatly honored by the crowd, and by those joining him on the outdoor stage, which included Vice President G. W. Bush, Frank Sinatra, Steve Garvey of the Padres, Kellen Winslow of the Chargers, and Wayne Newton among others.

In spite of the fame of those people, there is no doubt that Reagan was the giant in the group. He radiated the energy of one who knows what is right and wrong, what side of that battle he is on, what he wants to do, and how to do it. I was inspired at the time, and just recalling that afternoon brings a feeling of energy and enthusiasm, which is what he did to tens of millions of people over his adult lifetime. No one was ever the worse, and many became better people, for knowing Ronald Reagan. What could be a better eulogy?

Very few of us can have such an impact in terms of numbers, but every single one of us can have such an impact on one person at a time, starting right now.