When Sparrows Fall

“My mother used to say, ‘Not a sparrow falls that God does not know.'”
Robert McKee
Story 

Two days ago I mentioned seeing a small bird leave its nest and fly for the first time. It was a small but special moment that I was privileged to witness. This morning, just a few feet from where my wife and I watched three robins grow in a matter of days, we found a dead baby robin. A reminder of how joy and sorrow are often intertwined, and of the temporal world we live in.

A reminder that also came to me this week when I learned that someone I worked with a few years ago passed away early Monday morning. One of the great joys of my work is continually meeting new people. Hearing new stories. Back in 2005, I met Duane McDaniel during a video shoot in Hawaii where he was a pastor at Hawaii Kai Church in Honolulu.

Before I interviewed him he took me to breakfast. And of all the breakfasts I’ve had in my life this was the easily one of the most memorable, largely due to the fact that as we walked to our oceanfront table we walked by a lagoon that had dolphins. Quite a surprise when you’re not expecting it. I’ve since learned that The Kahala Resort has hosted Princess Diana, John Travolta, and Presidents Reagan and Obama. It’s a long way from Cedar Falls, Iowa in more than one way.

I interviewed Duane on the public beach near where we ate and I learned of what brought him to Hawaii, his recently having adopted two children, and that while Oahu is a paradise it also has plenty of problems—which at least six years ago centered around meth on the island. (In fact, he said that his two adopted kids were in his words, “crystal meth babies.”)

Just a few months after our interview he led a group of volunteers from his church to New Orleans to help in recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Louisiana native and LSU grad would make several similar trips over the years until eventually returning to his home state in 2009 to be the executive director of the New Orleans Baptist Association.

In November of ’09 I reconnected with Duane via Facebook and he wrote me this message about the video I produced;  “You made me famous…or infamous…in some circles. Come on down to New Orleans and we can do another one. Lots of exciting things happening in the rebuild of this grand ol’ city.” His passion was fixing things that were broken—places and people. I was looking forward to the opportunity to work with him in New Orleans. But last week he had a massive stroke that he never recovered from. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with him and my prayers go out to his wife and four children.

The stories of pastor’s like Duane don’t usually get the press of–say, someone predicating the end of the world–but there are plenty out there doing good work.

In light of the recent deaths and destruction from tornadoes in the Midwest, the South and even yesterday in Massachusetts (the first in 16 years there)–and really around the world– it’s a good reminder that life is short. Don’t waste it looking only for those mountaintop experiences. And remember that there’s plenty of work to be done in the valley’s of life. In could be volunteering with Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity (founded by screenwriter/director Randall Wallace), or in Joplin, MO, or somewhere close to your own backyard. Just focus on doing something good, it doesn’t have to be with a hammer and nails—a screenwriter friend of mine, Clare Sera, volunteers with Write Girl  in Los Angeles working with high school girls.

Related Post: Don’t Waste Your Life (Written in ’08 in the wake of a destructive tornado that hit Parkersburg, Iowa.)

Scott W. Smith