The words keep revolving in my head:
This is my desert….this is my life.
My young friend Dillon used those words when he was interviewed by the local news for a video piece. What nobody knew was that it would also be his eulogy and his memorial. One week after the video was released online, he went home to be with the Lord.
I was with Dillon the day that the video was released doing a bit of tutoring and helping him catch up and organize his work. His grades had been slipping. When I asked him if he was concerned, he looked at me with those gentle eyes and said frankly and without any rancor: I don’t care about it. He said he would try to do well in school, but if he did not, that was just the way it was. He then brightened up and asked me if I wanted to go and meet his ducks and his goats.
Dillon's desert is one that people racing around in golf carts or going to mixers and luncheons just don't seem to get. There are 75,000 acres of farmland in the Coachella Valley and Dillon and his 4H friends live in it and for it. They raise livestock, vegetables, and have developed a strong community that tolerates but barely takes notice of our tourism and social shenanigans.
When he said those words: This is my desert, this is my life, I realized that this 13 year old kid had done what most of us are struggling to do - he had a life.
He had friends....an estimated 1000 people showed up for his memorial.
He knew what was important...he was up at dawn to care for his animals. He made his friends smile and laugh. He loved his kid brother and his mom and dad.
He had a purpose....see for yourself.
