Saturday, February 20, 2021
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Carol Bauer
As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a monthly prayer alert. I hope you will share Carol's thoughts with your friends and fellow worshipers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. -- Gary
Everyone has a Rush Limbaugh memory. And this is the week when those of us who listened for decades are collectively feeling as if we have just lost a dear friend. We want to share our memories with one another.
We knew it was coming and the inevitable had been delayed far longer than we could have hoped. And yet the news, when it came from the voice of his wife, Kathryn, still shocked us to the core. We find ourselves reminiscing, in collective grief and looking to the future minus "El Rushbo."
I began listening to Rush waiting in the preschool carpool line for our youngest, Zach. And then, after hearing about Zach's day, I kept the radio on. Zach seemed to enjoy it, so our youngest is a "Rush baby."
Gary had the opportunity to appear with Rush at one of his early big events in California, which featured key conservative leaders. Our family met him in New York City, and we have a great picture of all of us around his desk offstage from the television studio. And, Gary had the opportunity to be on radio his show during his presidential run.
It turns out that Rush loved radio more than TV, and so after a few years doing both mediums he turned back to radio as his sole focus. I suspect that most of us met this man who became an on-air friend while driving in our car, listening in our homes or plugged in through our headphones. It felt like he was right there beside us.
Rush was smart, yet an everyman, emotional and stoic, brilliant, clear, insightful and very funny. He was brave, and more than willing to take on the arrows of the original cancel culture, which tried many times to drive him off the air through attempts to manipulate his sponsors.
He stood firm, shared with us what others were attempting and seemed to welcome the opportunity to show his listeners what those who do not respect free speech are willing to do. He was cherished by tens of millions, and vilified by others who simply hated him for both his ideas and his success.
With his passing those of us blessed by his life have a choice to make. We can wallow in the loss, become depressed at yet another hit for populist conservatism and turn inward in defeat and despair. Or, we can become emboldened by what seems to be a very personal loss.
As I have wrestled with the meaning of Rush's death on many of us, I couldn't help but think of the famous phrase from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: ". . . the torch has passed to a new generation of Americans."
We can no longer turn on the radio and listen to that smooth and friendly voice offering a unique take on the news of the day or a quirky story that would make us laugh. Most of us have listened for a very long time as Rush encouraged us, challenged us and educated us. It seems to me that his loss should challenge us to live out the lessons we learned from this one-of-a-kind man.
The torch is being passed, and we are the lucky recipients. He would exhort us and tell us we are up to the challenge. He'd spur us on by saying what was all this teaching for if not to put it to use in the real world.
And then, he would tell us to get on with being our best versions of the happy warrior he was so that we can shape the United States into a more perfect union for generations to come.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Rush Limbaugh and his willingness to stand up for patriotism, principle and the freedoms that give each of us the opportunity to succeed with the talents given to us by You.
We pray for his family and the very personal loss they feel, a loss different from the more corporate one we are experiencing. We thank You for the stories of his generosity that are just now being revealed. Most of all, we thank You for the faith journey he took during his illness sparked by men and women of faith he admired and his innate curiosity.
Lord, prompt us to feel and not deny the loss of a man we felt we knew as a friend. But guide us and show us how to put the lessons we have learned to real world uses. Give us strength, insight, bravery and a willingness to fight the good fight in the arenas in which we have influence.
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