Living a Life That Speaks

My sister-in-law’s father died this week.

I didn’t really know him except for the stories and happenings that Melissa would share. I know as a child she once thought he was Santa Clause – THE Santa Clause. Not because he looked like him (he didn’t) but because it wasn’t a stretch to believe he would want to spoil all the children of the world like he lovingly spoiled her. I know she adored him.

I didn’t know William Roy Buse. But I know Melissa Buse Warner.

I know that she loves my brother in such a way that grounds him. She has supported him through job changes and moves. She is his playmate and his biggest fan. As her mother and father were happily married for many years it’s not a stretch to imagine she might have seen her father treat her mother with tenderness. That they had a marriage based on deep friendship and mutual respect. I can imagine that Roy Buse was a good husband.

I know that Melissa is a wonderful mother. She adores her children and they love her. She is fun and sweet and champions their dreams. It would be hard to imagine that she wasn’t loved by Roy. That he made her feel special, and protected and deeply cherished. I think I know that Roy Buse was a good father.

I know Melissa probably best in the way she loves God. She is a passionate woman of God and we have stories in our family about her belief in His goodness, especially when times are tough. She is fearless in her faith. It is one of things I admire most about her. It is a faith that was born in her childhood and nurtured as she became a young woman. A faith than was encouraged by her father who set an example with his dedication to God, even serving as an elder in his church. I think I know Roy Buse was a man of God.

Not all children emulate their fathers. Not all parents live lives worthy of emulation. But William Roy Buse did. I’ve seen his legacy.

May all of our lives speak so loudly of our love of God, that even those who don’t know us are able to look at where we have been and those we have touched and say “I didn’t know them, but I know they belonged to Christ”.