What Will Be Said at Your Eulogy?

An ultra-respected Mesquite, TX cop of 21 years, Officer Richard Houston, was fatally shot outside of a grocery store in Mesquite on December 3, 2021. His eulogy was given by Asst. Chief Doug Yates and was 16 minutes 41 seconds long well worth listening to.

One of my son-in-law’s recounted an amazing story relative to the slain officer over breakfast this morning. On December 9^th, he was headed East bound on I-30 going over the Lake Ray Hubbard Bridge in Rockwall, TX when of all things a large trailer he was towing came loose. He could not repair this because of the danger of the vehicles including big semi’s swooshing by usually accelerated over the speed limit of 65 mph. So, he dialed 411 to request a cop to protect him while he reattached the hitch. The police officer showed up approximately 20 harrowing minutes later. Shortly after the cop’s assistance, Ryan was able to reattach the hitch “at the speed of a race car pit crew”. During the repair, he noticed that there was no traffic whatsoever. He looked back westward realizing that traffic had stopped with helicopters hovering over a limousine and quickly recognized that the limo was carrying the body of Officer Richard Houston. The officer who assisted Ryan told him that he would have to wait for the funeral procession to pass by (approximately 30 minutes). Why? Because of the honor shown to a heroic slain police officer. Being next to the vehicles as they passed by him, Ryan stated that it was one of the most moving experiences of his life. Such honor!

The aforementioned Asst. Chief, Yates, stated in his eulogy characteristics about Officer Houston that need to be present in our lives. “He was always:

On task…watched after other fellow officers…lived and taught doing things right…willing to do the tough assignments that others did not want to do…
A family man…An officer told Officer Yates that the first 10-hour shift he rode with Officer Houston, 9 ½ hours were spent listening to him talk about his wife and family.
Well respected…a Christian man who had a real, authentic Christian walk…
A good friend who went on planned camping/fishing trips and adventures with colleagues. He refused to go out on a trip or adventure before he spent time early AM with God. Often, he was seen on the banks of a lake with his Bible and devotional material spending time with His God. Officer Houston’s Bible and devotional material were with him when he was shot.”

In this eulogy, one thing stood out to me. Officer Houston always emphasized that “the How” was more important than “the what”. If you rearrange the letters “H-O-W” they become “W-H-O”. The “W-H-O” (God) facilitates the “H-O-W”…doing things God’s way.

During the Eulogy, two verses were highlighted: 2 Corinthians 5:8&9,We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So, we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. Honor was given to God by the way this Christian Officer lived.

What will be said at your eulogy?