Four More Gems

Here are four more gems in my life.


Uncle Bert Sears – One Saturday as my father was out of town on a band trip, Uncle Bert drove (about 45 miles each way) from Stoveville to Erindale (now part of Mississauga) so I could get to my 45 minute hockey game. I would not have been ten at the time. The game took less time than he spent on the road. Through that act that day, as well as through his words of encouragement during and following the game, Uncle Bert demonstrated the importance family, that supporting one’s family goes beyond one’s parents and siblings.

I am also forever grateful to Uncle Bert for his words of wisdom many years later. The week prior to returning to college for my senior year I spent at his cottage. I had started dating Evie three weeks before the end of the school year. Through our summer correspondence I fell in love with her. It was my conversations with Uncle Bert who helped me to understand that it is the depth of my feelings and the quality of my feelings in partnership with one’s own readiness for marriage that should govern when I should ask her to marry me, not the length of time we had been dating. The end of the story is, within two weeks of returning to Asbury, Evie and I were engaged….and we have been married now 27 years.



Earl Camuti – Think about that high energy child who is always in motion and an extrovert who loves being people. Couple with that upright passion and service to his Lord, a passion for his wife and family. To that mix add compassion for those in pain and outstanding common sense. The result is you would have Earl and though I knew for five years he is a man I miss tremendously. Yet I am thankful for his impact upon my life.

His greatest impact is through the gift he gave me….my life’s partner, his daughter Evie. Too often when we live with a person day after day their impact becomes unrecognized because of the breath and depth of the impact one’s loving spouse has upon the other. Further lost, is the tremendous influence of the parents upon the nature and character of their children.

The influence of Earl, and Dorothy his wife, is demonstrated in my life each and every day of my life through their daughter.

Another lesson I learned from Earl is an example of how a godly man is able to slowly loose the battle with cancer over years, and to relinquish his life and family with dignity, peace and grace. Witnessing his spirit, hearing his words in those early weeks and during those last days are burned into my memory. While I do not know what may be ahead in my life, if death is not sudden, I hope that I will be able to go through the process of being promoted to glory in the same spirit as Earl.


Dorothy and Paul Seiler – Dorothy’s character and loves are reflects in the life of her daughter Evie. In 1985 Dorothy married Paul. We have watched how each embraced the other’s family as their own with generosity and love. Paul's cogent wisdom and insight has given me pause numerous times to think about broader implications. This couple has further enhanced my appreciation for family and its breadth. Since moving to Washington DC five years ago one of the blessings that have come with the move is that my sons have been able to get to know and appreciate Paul and Dorothy.


Four more gems to be posted this weekend.