In 1993 we sat down together and put a plan together to take care of his business, as he got older. My dad was one of the wisest businessmen I have ever known. He saw his ability to manage his affairs beginning to slip due to his age. He began talking to me about everything he wanted to accomplish and what he wanted to see happen upon his departure from this life to his eternal life in heaven with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a blessing! I knew he had his eternal security taken care of but he began training me to take care of his business here on earth before his departure.
Dad’s health was deteriorating and his ability to plan was slipping away day by day. He carried me through the process of making every effort to PLAN AHEAD. He updated his Will, initiated an estate plan and fully communicated with me all his final wishes years before passing. When he died in February of 2009, I had all his affairs in order. It was hard to see him leave this mortal state. He was my father and a rock that I could always go to for most of my life. As my sister and I became caretakers for him in the last five years of his life, I began to see his wisdom in planning ahead more clearly. What was once a very good businessman became a person that could not even talk. But the day he died, everything was in order.
I want to encourage everyone I see to plan ahead for the day they die. First of all it’s paramount to know where you are going-heaven or hell. Jesus said that no one goes to His Father in Heaven except through Him who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14). Are you saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? This is the only thing that you want to know, but it’s the one thing that your surviving family and friends want to know. My dad was saved as a young boy and lived a life serving his Lord and Savior everyday of his life. He also planned ahead by taking care of business for his survivors. He had all his affairs in order. He planned for someone to carry on with his wishes well ahead of the time that he could no longer express them. He had a health care plan, an estate plan and communicated as clearly as possible what he wanted in case he could no longer tell anyone.
I have taken his example in putting my long-term wishes on paper. I have a Will expressing my desires for my estate. I have a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care expressing my desires for what I want and do not want them to do in case I cannot make health care decisions for myself. I have my insurance policies and other vital papers in places that can be easily accessed by my family if I should suddenly die or no longer be able to communicate. This is stuff that we all do not want to talk about, much less actually do. We feel invincible. We feel that we have plenty of time to take care of it as we get older. We never know when something will happen that could totally incapacitate our abilities to communicate or even die. I want everyone reading this to seriously consider planning ahead like my father did. Don’t procrastinate and put it off for another day. Set down with your loved ones and talk about your affairs and then take the necessary steps to do everything you can to put it in writing. Believe me, it helps your surviving family members so much when you have your wishes expressed on paper beforehand.
I miss my dad a lot, but I am so thankful that he planned ahead. I want to encourage all of you regardless of age to do whatever you can to plan for the day that you will no longer be able to tell anyone what you want either because of your death or incapacitation. Above all, are you sure of your eternal security? Where you go eternally is the most important thing. Leaving your affairs in order is secondary but so important to them once you have passed. PLAN AHEAD!
Keith