Big Boots To Fill

Just heard of the passing of a great man who was a close friend of my family when I was growing up.  Bob Bisig had a long and a good life.  My earliest memories of him were when he was playing pitch at my grandmother's kitchen table with my parents, my sister, and I. He and his wife Lois had been very instrumental in my parents' spiritual growth over the years.  Bob and his wife Lois were sweethearts until the end.  I remember seeing them this last fall at my parents' 50th anniversary party.  Lois had played the organ at their wedding, if I remember correctly.  They seemed just as in love as ever as Bob escorted his bride into the party on his arm.  Bob was the kind of man who would do anything for you, and it seemed like he would do whatever he had to to help out, regardless of who you were.  Bob was a farmer, and among many other things, I remember going to their home one winter evening because they were expecting a couple of their ewes (that's female sheep) to give birth that night.  We stayed until the births took place, and I remember vividly playing with the newborn lambs after we helped get them cleaned up.  Bob was a special kind of person, an easy going, grace-filled sort of man.  I have spent a lot of my life striving to become the kind of man that I remember him being.   The kingdom of God graduates a soldier today, and God's gain is our loss.   Big shoes are left to fill, and I encourage every Christian man to step up and be the man God made them to be, a Bob Bisig sort of man.