This story about Devin is very loosely based on something a read a long time ago.
Devin was a man that spent his quiet life working and providing for his family. Devin rarely spoke ill of people and almost never spoke about another person unless it was something constructive or helpful. Like all of us, Devin would occasionally slip and cast judgement on another person. But he seemed to live by the rule of if he didn’t have something nice to say, he wouldn’t say anything at all.
Devin worked in a factory. He was liked by his coworkers, but he almost never spent time outside of work, anywhere but home. At home, he worked in his garage, spent time maintaining the lawn and keeping his home together. He didn’t take his family on a lot of vacations, and he wasn’t the person to attend his children’s school activities. Devin just lived a quiet but honest life, proving what his family needed.
In May of 1986 Devin died of a heart condition. It was sudden and unexpected. He wasn’t a man that spent much time at a doctor’s office, and nobody had any idea of how sick Devin was, even Devin.
Sam’s realization
Two days later, Devin’s only son Sam decided to spend some time in his father’s garage. Sam was a senior in high school and was about to graduate at the top of his class. While cleaning up in the garage, Sam found a notebook that belonged to his father. It sat on an old crate, next to a small chair in front of the wood stove that his father used to heat the garage in the winter. Sam sat in the chair and began to read through the notebook that his father had left behind.
Contained in the notebook were 3 lists. One of the lists was a list of people that his father would pray for every day. A second list was titled “Needs Help.” It was a long list of names, with small notes to the side that read things like, “Needs groceries, or needs firewood, or needs a ride to work next weekend.” Many names had been crossed off. A 3rd list was titled “What I’m thankful for.” It was a short list. It read, “My God, My family, and My work.”
At Devins funeral, there were no scheduled speakers. But a few people stood up to give a short testimony about Devin. One woman stood up and told a story of how Devin had seemingly randomly paid for her groceries at the supermarket. A coworker of Devins stood up and told a story of how he was laid up in bed with an injury one Autumn, and someone had 2 truckloads of firewood delivered and stacked at his home. He later found out that Devin had arranged it. A young man that nobody knew stood up and talked about how when he first got hired in the next town over, he was forced to walk to work on the weekends, because he and his wife had only 1 car and she needed it to take their children to games on the weekends. He said for 3 weekends in a row, Devin just happened to be driving by at the same time and was able to give him a ride.
When the funeral was over, Devins family and friends finally realized who Devin really was. He wasn’t just a quiet man. He was a man that cared for others, and who spent his “quiet time” with God and finding ways to do for others.
As the school Valedictorian, Devins son Sam gave a speech at his graduation a couple of weeks later. It was titled, “Pray for everyone, Help others uncompensated, and Be Thankful for what really matters.”