The weekly blog is a day early for a very special reason. On this Sunday, April 25th our family has the joy of celebrating the 100th trip around the sun for Joni’s uncle Lloyd Banks. I have had the privilege of knowing him for nearly half of his wonderful life. Lloyd and his 93 year old child bride Ebby have been married for seventy-four years. All of those numbers are astounding but a life well lived is about more than longevity.

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Uncle Lloyd had a truly extraordinary career fueled by the Midwest work ethic I grew up with. As a 12 year old in Creston, Iowa he acquired a part-time job sorting bakery items for Colonial Baking. Lloyd worked multiple newspaper delivery routes and cleaned chicken cage pans to earn money. Try selling that job to a young teen today.

A fun fact about Uncle Lloyd is that he became an accomplished exhibition roller skater and even traveled around southwest Iowa performing.

After high school he joined the railroad and started with the glamorous task of carrying ashes out of the depot. Over the next thirty years he advanced as a railroad brakeman and conductor. When most folks would be winding down Lloyd launched a new career in home building and real estate. During the next four decades he built 2,000 new homes in southwest Iowa. Uncle Lloyd was a pioneer in building energy efficient homes way before it was the thing to do.

All of that is commendable but that is not the reason this day is special. Today we honor the character and kindness of Lloyd Banks and his wonderful partner Evelyn. His life had many heartaches. Lloyd lost his only brother at the age of forty-one. Their oldest son Larry died in a tragic work accident when he was twenty-eight years old. Yet Lloyd kept his faith in God and others through those trials. He lived his life giving, serving, and encouraging those around him. That is why so many honor him and Evelyn today.

Ask his grandkids and great grandkids to describe Lloyd and you will hear words like fun, kind, and giving. Friends will use words like loyal, generous, funny, energetic, and kind. While all of us would like to be successful isn’t it the best measure of real success to be described in those terms? I have treasured my time hearing Lloyd’s stories and seeing first hand his heart for family and others.

His son Jerry carries on the family tradition of community involvement and success. Last year, the Banks family donated $100,000 to the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation Women’s Fund of Southwest Iowa. The fund aims to support women in southwest Iowa through programming designed to improve their quality of life and overall well-being.

Lloyd Banks will tell you the key to living a long life is keeping a positive attitude.

“Have a good attitude. Don’t be mad all the time. Don’t hate people – love them.”

King David wrote this in Psalm 34.

What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Those simple truths make for a special life. I love this celebration for Uncle Lloyd so much. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing good men and women get to see and hear how their lives have mattered while they are still with us. Too often those memories and expressions of gratitude happen as memorial remembrances instead of face to face affirmation. And that is the gentle grace challenge I will offer to you today. Let the people who have made a difference in your life know how you feel about them. It can be a private communication or you can organize a celebration. But let them know. I have two examples in my own life that come to mind. One success and one regret.

My fourth grade teacher was so instrumental in my life. I was not interested in reading the assigned books. She realized I was a huge lover of all thing sports so she intentionally allowed me to read and report on sports biographies and stories. She reckoned that if I learned to read sports books voraciously that would transfer to other topics. She was right. I owe my life-long love of reading to Mrs. Snyder but I never told her. I so wish I had.

My high school basketball coach, Tom Cuppett, was a winner—a great teacher and motivator. He was instrumental in shaping me as a man. Years later I took my then teen-aged sons with me to meet Coach Cuppet. I told him how much he had meant to me. I shared how his tough love coupled with belief in me changed me and offered a template for success for the rest of my life. I will never forget the tears that welled up in his eyes and Coach telling me that he loved me.

So many good people spend a lifetime giving to others. Can we make it a priority to take a moment of our precious time to let them know they matter? Who can you honor in your life this year?

Today we honor the well lived lives of Lloyd and Ebby Banks while they can embrace and enjoy the moment. They simply tried to live the principle Paul wrote about to the Galatian church.

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It has an amazing impact.