Friday, May 15, 2015

A Good Man Never Dies

Good men. Good women. The world is full of them. But the world is full of evil too, and Edmund Burke may have said it best:  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Some may choose the path of least resistance that often leads to silence, inaction, and in the end the triumph of evil. However, there is a caliber of individual who stands for what is right and true, despite the cost to personal well-being or reputation.

SSgt. Daniel Marshall Morris was just that type of man, a born-again Christian who loved God and displayed his faith in a daily outpouring of love and compassion for those around him. Daniel's gentle and steady demeanor spoke volumes about the God who changed his life and gave him a purpose for living. May 15, 2015, is Daniel’s 37thbirthday, but his selflessness robbed him of the opportunity to see his daughter become a young woman and for him to grow old on this side of eternity.  

Before an IED took Daniel's life on November 25, 2006, while serving in the U.S. Army in Diyala Province in Iraq, he wrote a letter to his sweet mother, Amy, about his desire to help the people of Iraq who had suffered human rights violations for decades under the hand of a cruel, dictatorial regime. This was the spirit of Daniel, a kind and humble man whose short life often spoke louder than his words, and through his tragic and untimely death still speaks.

A Good Man Never Dies 

A good man never dies--
In worthy deed and prayer
And helpful hands, and honest eyes,
If smiles or tears be there:
Who lives for you and me--
Lives for the world he tries
To help--he lives eternally.
A good man never dies.

Who lives to bravely take
His share of toil and stress,
And, for his weaker fellows' sake,
Makes every burden less,--
He may, at last, seem worn--
Lie fallen--hands and eyes
Folded--yet, though we mourn and mourn,
A good man never dies.

James Whitcomb Riley

Daniel was a son to us. I would say like a son, but he truly was a son to us, and we thank God for the opportunity to know him and to love him. I still get a lump in my throat when I talk about him.  Grief is a strange thing, and it's our great sense of loss and an enduring love that drives the tears on days like these when we wish we could hear his laugh one more time and see him smile. Although we can't see it, Daniel is smiling right now. He made the ultimate sacrifice, paid the highest price, and as a Christian is receiving his reward. Daniel, one day we will meet again on the other side of this earthen veil. It’s not over. It’s not finished. It's not ending. It’s only the beginning. When God is in it, all things are made new.


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