Father-in-law's estate valued at over half-billion dollars

No one ever imagined the magnitude of my father-in-law's legacy until he died in late October. When his four children gathered for his funeral and began to inventory their inheritance, they were stunned by their wealth. They were not prepared for the realization that because of his careful and faithful investment over the years, they were rich beyond their wildest dreams. I was shocked, too! But I have already concluded that my father-in-law followed these basic investment principles:

• He invested consistently, regardless of what experts counseled on any given day.
  
  
• He invested persistently. Even when it did not seem to make sense or when it appeared his investment would not pay off, he kept on investing, undeterred by voices of gloom and doom.
  
  
• He invested only in the highest rated "stock." He refused to invest in "get something for nothing" schemes. He wouldn't be seduced by socially irresponsible investments. His policy flowed from his character. Integrity mattered more than quick returns.
  
  
• He never counted the cost of sacrifice. He experienced many trials in his lifetime: the death of a daughter and two wives; undergoing one of the country's first open-heart surgeries; fighting a kidney ailment. Yet he kept on investing, never counting the cost as sacrifice or something he could not afford. In the bleakest of times, he invested when it seemed he had nothing to invest.
  
  
• He never measured his gains.
  

I find this absolutely astounding. He never wasted energy in measuring or adding the value of his investments. He died without any sense of the legacy he was passing on.

Last week his children gathered around his rather modest casket. All they could think about, cry for, or talk about was how he had wisely invested over the years – mostly unknown to them until that day by his coffin. It was then they understood fully for the first time: Because he had invested consistently, persistently and without regard to personal gain, their legacy is valued at more than half-a-billion dollars.

Now, the real question is how much of the total sum my wife and her three brothers will each inherit. I do know his tangible legacy consisted of a few bills to pay; $160 (to help with the due bills); some clothes; a few books; photos; a wheelchair and a borrowed recliner.

I also know that this intangible legacy is immeasurable. It is worth more to his children than $10 billion dollars! The truth is, my father-in-law never invested in stocks and bonds. He invested in the character and spiritual formation of his children – in the betterment of the human family. He invested the totality of his being in God.

His earthly life is over, but as my 95-year-old mother recently wrote, "He is not lost. We know where he is – home with his Lord and loved ones – they await our coming." So true! Thanks be to God! Amen!

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Bishop Ray W. Chamberlain
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