I conducted the funeral service this morning for Jessie Mae Murphy Lutz. Had she lived to June 18 she would have been a century old. She was lovingly known as Na Na. I visited with Mrs. Lutz just a few short weeks before she died. She was reading a book. Her mind was sharp. Her hair was black..NATURALLY! She loved having me read the Bible to her. She was an unusual and inspiring woman. She had few personal possessions but left a wealth of memories with her family and friends. Last Sunday I baptised one of her great great nieces!
What was happening in 1908? In that year the first airplane crash occurred. Orville Wright was injured and his passenger was killed. In 1908 the Chicago Cubs won the world series. They haven't won one since. Henry Ford introduced the Model T to the nation. It only came in black. One cost about $835.00. Teddy Roosevelt was serving his last year as President. He would be off to Africa hunting at the end of his term. William Howard Taft would follow him in the office. In Messina, Sicily a terrible earthquake and sunami would kill 75,000 people. So one hundred years ago, like 2008, was filled with the new and the old; the fun-filled and the tragic. A hundred years ago seems perhaps a long time back, but to God a thousand years is like a day.
Good advice from the Bible is this: "Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12