This week has been one of those times. News of a sudden and unexpected passing; news of an expected and dreaded passing. Sometimes life is just hard. Sometimes people wonder how much more can a person or a family endure. Sometimes there are no answers, but a multitude of unanswerable questions. Sometimes there is only faith.
Last weekend, God called Mike Hart home. It was a sudden and unexpected call, and the news of Mike's death spread sadly across social media. Mike and his family had gone to Indiana to see his beloved Titans play the Colts. Mike had suddenly become ill, and he had been taken to the emergency room. Preliminary test results revealed a serious infection that was ravaging Mike's body. Surgery would be required. Mike would not survive the surgery.
The Sweet family began to worship with the Madison Church of Christ in 1993. I don't remember exactly when our paths crossed with the Hart family, but it was probably twenty years ago. At this time, Madison was a huge congregation. Most of the people you got to know were those that sat near you, and that is how we met Mike, Debbie and Mikey Hart. Mike and Debbie were always so kind and friendly with us. Mike always talked about liking to sit near us because of Jeff's and my singing. We were in Sunday School classes together, and it was evident that Mike and Debbie loved one another; they loved their son; but most importantly, they loved the Lord.
Through the years, our paths continued to cross as part of a wonderful church family. Mike and Debbie soon added John and Sarah to their family; we added Colton and Conner to ours. We learned that Debbie was a great cook, and Mike was a talented and knowledgeable heating and air conditioning technician. When we purchased our log house and fifty acre farm in 2001, we had no idea how valuable Mike's knowledge of these things would be for us.
Within a few months of purchasing the house, the first, of three heating/air conditioning units began to freeze up. This was one of the smaller units, but it was still important. We called Mike to come out, and he said that the unit was not worth repairing. It needed to be replaced. Mike did some things to the unit to keep it going until we could figure out what needed to be done. We had purchased a home warranty on the house, and we hoped it would allow us to have Mike do the work. Mike hoped so too; however, the warranty company had another contracted vendor they required us to use for replacement. Mike just smiled, and said that was fine. He said, he was glad to help.
Within a year or two, the second small unit began similar problems. Mike came to the rescue again. This time, he did some repair work that bought us about one more year of use. Following another outage, in early January, Mike suggested that we replace it. He researched the best type of unit for a log home, and spent several days installing it. He ate supper with us one night while he was working. He talked and told stories, smiling his huge and happy smile the whole time. He loved cake, and he ate a small piece before going back to work on the new unit. He finished all of the installation up one evening, just as Jeff was packing to go on a week-long business trip. I will never forget him standing in the kitchen just smiling. We talked a little bit, and Mike just kept on standing there smiling. I remember wondering what in the world he was waiting on. Wasn't he ready to go on home? Mike stood there a little longer before it finally dawned on Jeff and me. He was standing there, smiling, and patiently waiting -- to be paid. We apologized and apologized, but Mike just stood there smiling some more. That was just his way. He knew that we had forgotten that he needed a check, but he was just going to stand there, in his kind and unassuming nature, until we remembered!
The next day, Jeff and I laughed again about it, and Jeff was soon off to the airport, for a week of training in Florida. When the children were little, it always bothered me when Jeff was gone. Something bad always happened, it seemed, when he was away. Two days later, a winter storm and freezing rain entered Nashville. As well, our temporary insanity of deciding to raise goats, had produced a nanny, just about to deliver twins. Add three young children into the mix, and you can imagine my stress level.
I got the children settled in the house, and made my way to the barn to see if "Momma Goat" needed any help. Two darling little babies had been born, so I hurriedly got some fresh hay and covers together in an internal stall. I moved mother and babies into the stall, and prayed that they wouldn't all be frozen to death by morning. By the time I got back in the house, it was about 9 PM, and a thin sheet of ice had formed on everything. When I came into the house, I noticed that it seemed really chilly in the house. The upstairs of the house was warm. The far end of the house, with the newest unit, was warm. The majority of the main floor and downstairs was not. Surely, this third unit was not going to act up in this bitter storm.
Out of the blue, the telephone rang, and Mike Hart was on the other end. He was calling just to check to make sure the new unit was working right. He was worried it might have frozen up in the quickly developing ice. I informed him that the unit was working fine so far, but there was evidently something wrong with the big unit. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, before Mike said that he was on his way. He'd be there as quickly as he could, but there was ice on the roads. I told him that we could just use some extra blankets, and that we'd be okay. He said if our big unit had really gone out, we would have burst pipes by morning.
Within an hour or so, Mike and his brother-in-law, Rob, were coming in the back door. This storm was really getting bad. Mike apologized for getting there so late, and they immediately got to work to see if they could figure out the problem. Within a short while, Mike diagnosed that the big unit was on its last leg. Of course, he couldn't replace it under the current weather conditions, but he would do his best to figure out how to repair it well enough to get us through this winter storm. Mike and Rob worked tirelessly to try to get the unit going. Finally, they got it going about midnight. I fixed them some coffee or hot chocolate, and we stood in the kitchen laughing about the fact that we were all freezing, but Jeff was in Florida. I told them about the goats, and Mike smiled. He wanted to see them, so we all took off, toward the barn, through the storm, with flashlights.
Mike stood there smiling and watching the little goats nurse their momma. He said he thought that was one of the sweetest things that he had ever seen. I told them that I thought them coming out in the middle of the night to help me with my heat was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. Soon, they were back on the road, headed home. I remember lying down with Katie that night and thanking God for a man like Mike Hart. Someone that would come to my rescue in such a storm, and smile the whole time he did it.
Mike would call every day for the rest of that week. He would make two more trips out to the house to rig the big unit until the weather broke enough for him to replace it. He would rescue us and offer help, until Jeff could get back home. But that was just Mike's way. He was a kind and compassionate man. He was a Godly man and a humble man. He loved his friends. He loved his family. He loved his children. He loved his wife. But most importantly, He loved God. He witnessed to others about his love for the Lord, and the Lord's love for him.
I saw Mike a few weeks ago. He was driving toward me, and we saw each other at the same time. He started waving and smiling. Within seconds, he pulled passed me, and disappeared into the sea of traffic. As I pulled into a parking lot to finish up some last minute shopping, I thought to myself, how much I really missed seeing Mike and Debbie on a regular basis; how I really would like to have them over for dinner; how much they both meant to me. I thought how I knew that being together -- even after all this time -- would be just like old times. That's how it is with Christian friends.
That would be the last time I would see Mike's amazing smile this side of eternity. I can almost see the glistening in his eyes and the brightness of his smile, as he walks the streets of heaven. One day -- soon or not so soon -- I know we will see Mike again. But until then, Mike has won the victory over death. Mike has won the race, and he has finished his course. Well done, my friend. Rest well.
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