One Last Moment of Joy, of Peace

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

- Abraham Lincoln

Upon seeing a photo displayed in a museum taken of President Lincoln just before his assassination, I noticed the man literally looked like he was 90 years old. Abraham Lincoln was only 56 when he unfortunately died from a gunshot by John Wilkes Booth. Yes, you may know the story and all of the accomplishments of the man we like to call Honest Abe, but here is something more for you to think about.

While spending a day with my buddy Brian at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois, I came away with more than any history text book could ever reveal. One display showed a photo of Lincoln from 1860 when he was elected President, and each year after that up to his untimely death in 1865. The first photo showed him looking like a young college student, then the photo of him in 1865 you could see how vastly he aged in a five year period as President, he looked like a grandpa.  Before and during his presidency, Lincoln had to deal with the issues of slavery and the Civil War. His goal was a unified country as he spoke highly of democracy, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Lincoln and his wife Mary had four children, three of them never reached adulthood, passing at young ages from various diseases. This took a toll on them even before Mr. Lincoln began his presidency.

Abraham Lincoln lived a tumultuous, but illustrious life, and his term as President was at best not an easy one. I caught a glimpse of his final moments with his wife Mary before his life was taken, here in a message written by Mary and displayed at the museum:

After General Lee's surrender, Lincoln found some time to relax, and for the first time in ten years felt he could laugh freely again. As he sat with his wife in Ford's Theater, Lincoln smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

Equally content, Mary held his hand and at a few minutes before ten, hugged him.

Just a few short minutes later, Lincoln's life was taken from him. I found it ironic that here, a man who gave so much for the cause of freedom, a man who endured three of his children's deaths, who aged so quickly in such a short span, was able to experience a moment of joy, love, and peace with his wife in his final moments.

No such words could describe this any finer than Amazing grace.