Episode 124 - Generations - A Poetic Tribute to the Late Audrey Arneberg

At 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 1985, Paul witnessed his mom die after long battles with breast cancer and leukemia. This poem was written during the pandemic for Paul’s former monthly column for Jugheads Youth Juggling Co. As Audrey Arneberg’s death in the middle of Paul’s high school career is a major part of his testimony, he reads the poem along with brief commentary on death; how survivors should use death as an occasion to glean examples from the departed while also renewing one’s purpose to trust in and live for the Lord (see Eccl. 7:2); and look to Jesus and our blessed hope in Him, His return, and His promise that all the redeemed will live forever together in His kingdom (see 1 Thes. 4:13-18). The final four lines of Paul’s 92-line poem attempt to express Christ-centered stewardship of the years the Lord gives us (regardless of lifespan) and the highest aim for one’s life and death in Christ: “I want to live well and to die in the Son / When All told, I yet live for an Audience of One.”