Doug Siu Funeral—November 2, 2002
Teach Us to Count Our Days
We can all remember when we were kids counting the days before Christmas so that we can open the colorfully wrapped gifts under the tree. Or counting the minutes before the last school bell rings, signaling the end of school and the beginning of an endless summer. Or for most of us who were able to watch the Giants play the sixth game of the World Series, we still can’t stop thinking about the time when the count was full and the Giants ran out of innings to play.
For us in the prime time of our lives, we don’t often count our days. We believe that there’re too many days to count on our ten fingers and on our ten toes. Our lives are still in the first inning. When Doug Siu died suddenly last Saturday (Oct. 26, 2002), we were shocked and devastated because we were not ready to count our days.
But according to God, time and days are not necessarily measure by the hands on our clocks or the rising and the setting of the sun. The Psalmist said, “For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.” For those whose days of their lives surpass seventy, eighty or ninety years, they are revered and grateful. They ran out of fingers and toes to count.
But for those of us whose lives are not measured by long years but rather how we are spending our short years, God also blessed and looked favorably on us. Sometimes, it only takes a few years to already live a lifetime.
Doug Siu worked hard to make a living. He was never afraid to put in long hours so that his family would have a home. He wasn’t counting the hours to quit when there’s still more work to be done. He was a good friend with people and spent many hours in their company. Doug was a loving husband to Lillian, committed to making her happy and was setting out to building for them a brighter future. Doug was also a caring and loving father to Sydney, especially when they played rough. In these few years, Doug had taught her how to hit a baseball. Doug didn’t need many years to show his love for Lillian, Sydney, and you. God gave him enough years to do this and we are all very thankful.
In Psalm 90, it reads,
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
2.
God has been with us in the beginning of time. God was with us when we were born. God was with Doug at the last days of his life on earth. And God is with all of us here, today as we believe that from everlasting to everlasting, God is alive. Our hearts are wiser when we see our lives are fulfilled in the sight of God.
Doug Siu returned to God about the time when the Giants were playing the sixth game of the World Series with the Angels. As an avid baseball fan, he wanted to go see the game. Let us believe that Doug will always have a great seat watching the Giants play. And as he taught Sydney how to hit a baseball, maybe Doug can also teach a few Giants to hit too. Imagine in heaven, there are countless innings of baseball for him to enjoy.
Henri Nouwen once said,
“How do we prepare ourselves for death? By living each day in the full
awareness of being children of God, whose love is stronger than death.
Speculations and concerns about the final days of our life are useless, but
making each day into a celebration of our belovedness as sons and
daughters of God will allow us to live our final days, whether short or
long, as birthing days. The pains of dying are labor pains. Through them,
we leave the womb of this world and are born into the fullness of
children of God.”
Through baptism and God’s love, Doug has left the womb of this world and is born anew as God’s child in heaven. We know this to be true because Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
We don’t need to worry about Doug who is now with God. But let us live life in fullness, by learning from God to count our days so that we may gain a wise heart. The Psalmist said,
“Have compassion on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning
with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all
our days. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and
prosper for us the work of our hands.”
Let us pray. Precious Lord God, we are thankful for the life of Doug Siu who shared his love with his family and friends. We pray that our memory of him will enable us to live our lives as fully as he lived his. Teach us, Lord to count the days of our lives so that we too may gain a wise heart. Amen.