It’s hard for me to believe that my good friend Michael Burns has been gone nearly a year.  He was a real gem…always thinking of others.  Just a few weeks before he died Michael shared his mission statement with a myriad of friends.  At the time…Michael was in horrible pain from cancer throughout his body…but he never gave that impression in his correspondence.  With the anniversary of Michael’s passing to eternal life being August 4 of 2007…I’d like to share with you Michael’s mission statement in hopes that it might inspire you:

July 12, 2007

Hello Everyone.

I want to thank you for all the messages of encouragement and prayer. Obviously, I have quite a battle ahead of me. For that reason, I want to share something that is very personal to me that I wrote 4 years ago. What I’m talking about is my personal mission statement and I use it keep me focus on who I am and why I’m here.

I hope you all get something from it, and perhaps you will write one of your own if you haven’t already.

Michael Burns: Personal Mission Statement

I am Michael Burns. I am son of James and Dorothy; half brother of Cedric, Karen, and Blanche; Step Father of Bridget; husband to Mary; and friend of many.

I have determined for today and forward that the purpose of my life is to strive to be the best version of myself that I can be for myself, family, friends, and the world. The title of my life story is “Precious Gift” because God made me in his image. As such, it is an awesome responsibility to the world to make sure I never tarnish His precious image.

My passion is simple. Never go a single day in my life without performing an act of kindness. If I do, my life purpose will be felt inwardly and outwardly without need for verbal declaration. I will continue to keep my passion on path by remembering to treat other people as I wish to be treated.

My personal motto is “habits form character”. It means I must remember that my total self is comprised of body, mind, and soul. All three need nourishment and healthy habits to be whole and well.

Gems of wisdom I have picked up include:
1. Small things matter.
2. Listen to understand.
3. We all silently carry burdens.
4. Life is full of surprises — Celebrate good ones; learn from bad ones.

My wish for myself is personal peace and contentment that I’ve done the best I can do. My wish for others is that they find their peace and overcome their adversities.

What I will do to retain and live my new insight is be humble in all things and marvel in the miracle of life — God’s Precious Gift.

Michael Burns
June 6, 2003

Thank you for sharing that precious gift with so many.  We will meet again, my friend.

As part of my job as Youth Minister at a church here in Cincinnati I am helping another man teach a religion class of seventh and eighth graders as well as teaching them music by myself. One of the students is a boy who is autistic. I was given a “heads-up” that this boy is a bit difficult to deal with and doesn’t like to cooperate. I soon found out first-hand that that observation was right on target. The boy likes to make disparaging comments and has a very glum demeanor. On the first day of music class…he pretended to be asleep and snored from start to finish.

Right from the start I was thinking, “O-k, God, was this necessary. I mean, I’m new at this teaching thing and so why this?” But, you know, at the same time I’m thinking, “I bet You want to draw me out of my comfort zone…again…right, God?”

Well…this kid is intelligent. He seems to have a fascination with science fiction and as he was expounding during a break about a dream he had about heaven and God and other dimensions…I suddenly wondered if I was quite possibly listening to some amazing, scientifically advanced TRUTH direct from God Himself! Maybe.

So then comes the music class today when I was trying to teach them to sing the song, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.” If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a very pleasant, lyrical song praising God for all the gifts He surrounds us with. The kids were far from enthused, however. No one was singing much above a whisper. Then one of the kids said, “Why don’t we have a singing contest?” I thought…yeah, great idea…when NO ONE WANTS TO SING! There were only a few minutes left in class so I thought…o-k, why not? So the kid who had asked about the singing contest very sheepishly sang a few lines from a strange ditty he heard on YouTube. When he finished (at least I think he was finished), I asked if anyone else wanted to sing…and guess who raised his hand? The autistic boy! He said he wanted to sing, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever!” So he got up and walked to the podium. I asked him if he wanted me to accompany him on my guitar and he said he did. Moments later…this kid was singing fairly well! As I played my guitar the thought went through my head: Is this REALLY happening? And I could almost hear God replying, “Yeah…he is a pretty amazing gift, isn’t he?”