"Owe no man anything except to love one another." Romans 13:8

Dear Children,

I will turn 76 this week and I know I can’t have much more time on the downhill side. I give thanks every day for your mother’s and my good health. Neither of us know anything of prescription drugs or medications. I liken myself to the poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Deacon’s One-Hoss Shay.” The deacon built it so well that it never wore out or needed replacement parts until one day, suddenly it completely collapsed.

One of the things that accompany old age is concern for your children and grandchildren and what they will face when you are gone. That came home to me recently when an uncle called me to ask if I knew what our governor had in mind when she resigned. I assured him that He knew as much about that as I do. Then he reminded me of our childhood (he is 3 weeks older than I) and how we were brought up through a depression and WW II. We knew what it was to do without many things that are taken for granted today.

Jobs were created by the Roosevelt administration like the WPA-Workers Progress Administration. My dad called it “We Poke Along.” The OPA-Office of Price Administration he called “Other People’s Affairs.” It regulated prices on everything. I still have my ration book from the war years when we had to use stamps for food products like sugar and soap and other items. Gasoline and rubber products were rationed. Plastic hadn’t been invented yet, so that didn’t replace many things like it does today. You weren’t allowed to use gasoline for pleasure trips. Once while we going on a fishing trip, Dad told us that if we got stopped by a cop we were to tell him that we were going to Buzz Wagner’s funeral. He was a local flying hero who was shot down in the Pacific. I’m sure a cop would have believed that when he saw the fishing poles and how we were dressed! We never owned a car until I was 7 or 8 years old. We had to hire someone to take us to a funeral. We did a lot of walking and hitch hiking. My uncle and I talked about the difference then as compared to today.

Today you may be taking for granted things you have always had in your lifetime. If you can’t afford something you can always use a credit card. As I look at the present administration and its stimulus packages and the trillions of dollars of debt you will inherit, I tremble to think what you will have to go through after I am gone. Much that is available now you will no longer be able to afford. The temptation to borrow to buy what was a luxury yesterday and has become a necessity today will be great.

One of the many blessings your mother and I have benefited by in our 51 years together has been our mutual agreement not to go in debt. We took God at His word: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We believed his promise that “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). We determined to not go into debt other than to buy a house, and we never took longer than 5 years to pay that off. We agreed to tell no one but the Lord what we needed. I cannot recall ever having a disagreement with your mother about finances. We had both seen too much heartache in marriages over that. I write this not to criticize any of you who may not agree with our way of doing things. We have often responded when others have made known their needs. We simply want to share with you how God has blessed our lives in this realm. We will continue to pray for you.

To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.”

Dad