Dates of life and death, of national and personal importance.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born 80 years ago this past Thursday. He died in 1968, at age 39. (Remarkably, he was eight years younger than the President who is inaugurated today).

Ardey Phillips of our congregation died this past Saturday, at age 69.

My father was born 85 years ago this past Sunday. He died in 2006, at age 82.

Yesterday I said goodbye to Samantha Jo Trost, who died a couple of hours later. I had baptized her as an infant in 1988, making the sign of the cross on her wet forehead. Yesterday, because she was feeling so feverish, a loved one had put a wet wash cloth on the top of her head. So, on the day of her death, I again made the sign of the cross on her wet forehead.

Tomorrow will be the ( )th birthday (I am not authorized to release her age) of my best friend who, thank God, agreed with my proposal in 1975 that we get married.

The point is this: Who knows how many years of life we will be given? Each day is a gift. Cherish each day. Cherish the loved ones that God has given to you.