April 4…a day of remembrance and mourning. It’s my little sister’s birthday. She would have been celebrating 48 years had she not died in an auto accident shortly before she would have turned 5. It’s also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis Tennessee. I was so young when both of these tragic events occurred but I remember them well. Time goes by so quickly but yet, in some ways, I feel as if their deaths were just yesterday. It seems that these two lives were taken away long before they should have ended.
How can such a short life be filled with so much significance? The 39 years that Dr. King was on earth was culture changing. His impact continues to be felt and his passing is still mourned. His actions led to his death as a martyr for the civil rights movement. As a country, we are not yet where we need to be on issues concerning equality on many levels but we are changing. Heart changes take generations to accomplish, one heart at a time. One earthly man cannot force change. It happens slowly like the dripping of water on hard stone. Only the man, Jesus, truly can change hardened hearts. But he uses humans, with all our fallibility, to work a miracle, making our hearts like his. Dr. King knew Jesus and this made all the difference.
Doing the right thing is rarely easy. It generally means sacrifice. Often our best plans just don’t accomplish what we intended. Doing the right thing may lead to loss of a friendship, loss of a job or even, loss of life. It starts with little things like being honest enough to take an item back to the grocery that you didn’t buy or walking slowly to help an elderly person across a busy intersection. Sometimes, doing the right thing can lead you to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC speaking of dreams for a people you will never see grow old.
Dr. King, did you ever wonder how you arrived at that place, at that moment in time? I was only 10 years old when all this was happening but I remember you. There was an unwavering courage about you that must have been from the Lord. We often forget that you were a Baptist minister before you were a civil rights leader. Jesus never fought back with a sword but always with his words. You followed his example. It’s ironic that the anniversary of your death falls a few days after Easter.
Making a monumental impact on the world starts with all the little decisions. Everyday we must choose to do the right thing, no matter the cost. We have no idea where God will lead us or what tasks he will put before us in the short time we are given. Some like my little sister are placed on earth only for a brief moment, to bring joy and laughter into the lives of just a few. Others, like Dr. King, are given great tasks that are destined to change the lives of millions. However, both of them showed us the heart of Jesus. Their impact, whether small or great, is not forgotten.
