5/06/07

On the Wings of an Eagle

Twenty years can pass so quickly.

At the dinner table, my son, John, used to tell us stories about his fellow first grade friend Johnny Nagle. Little Johnny Nagle was always doing something quite entertaining in class. He was a child full of life and activity.

As the years progressed, we did not hear of little Johnny Nagle’s exploits. I did not think of these stories until I helped build a handicapped ramp a few years later at the Nagle residence in Country Lakes.

John Vernon Nagle ascended the ramp in his wheelchair. I realized then that this young man was the same super-active little Johnny Nagle my son had told me about. Muscular Dystrophy was robbing him of his physical abilities.

His parents, Janet and John Nagle, have shouldered this challenge. They also organized the Annual Muscular Dystrophy Yard Sale held at the Charlotte Hall Farmer’s Market to channel money for medical research.

I don’t believe John Vernon complained greatly about his disability. He lived his life and shared his talents and conversations. In a poem excerpt listed in his obituary, John wrote, “How I wish I could soar like an eagle, open my wings, soar above it all. No obstacle be inconquerable, no boundary could tie me down.”

The gates of Heaven swung wide this week as little Johnny Nagle soared through with an eagle’s wings. His spirit is free from the body that could not physically respond.

My own son, John, is finishing his internship at the National Institute of Health and preparing to complete his medical degree to specialize in medical research.

I cannot explain God’s logic or the distribution of burdens and blessings, but I wish to share a simple message that I have learned from the efforts and achievements of John Vernon Nagle in his short twenty-six years upon this Earth.

Each of us has an impact on the world. When a young man in a crippled body can leave such a lasting legacy of good works with his limited physical ability, what can you and I do with the talents we have?