10/13/2026
I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT
What if the greatest thing God accomplishes through your life is something you will never live to see?
There's a remarkable story buried in the history of Lancaster, Kentucky. It's about a man whose name many of us may recognize, but whose life deserves to be remembered.
His name was Captain William Early Buford. Born in Virginia in 1745, Buford belonged to the generation that witnessed the birth of America. He served during the Revolutionary War, when the future of this young nation was anything but certain.
Imagine what he must have experienced. The sacrifices, the uncertainty, the courage it took to believe that something greater was possible.
But his story didn't end when the war was over.
Years later, he made his way to Kentucky, where another opportunity awaited him. In 1797, Garrard County needed a county seat. Buford owned approximately 1,000 acres around a crossroads where a new town could be established. He could have looked at that land and seen only what belonged to him.
Instead, he saw what it might become.
On June 5, 1797, he sold fifty town lots, gave the land for a public square, and agreed to furnish water for the county court throughout his lifetime. That public square became the heart of Lancaster.
The spring he selected would serve the community for nearly fifty years. And his generosity apparently didn't stop there.
Local historical accounts credit him with donating land for Lancaster's First Presbyterian Church. Think about the life of this man. He served his country in its struggle for independence. He helped establish a town. He provided water for its people. And according to local history, he helped make a place for worship possible.
A soldier who fought for freedom. A pioneer who helped establish a community. A man whose decisions continued to matter long after his lifetime.
But perhaps the most moving part of his story comes at the very end.
According to an old Buford family account, his final words were:
"I have fought a good fight."
Those words echo the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
I don't know everything that was in Captain Buford's heart. History seldom tells us that. But I find something deeply moving about the possibility that a man who had fought for his country and helped establish our hometown would leave this world with those words upon his lips.
And it makes me think about our own lives. Most of us will never fight in a revolution. We may never establish a town or have our names engraved on a courthouse wall. Sometimes we may even wonder whether our lives are making much difference at all.
But I believe something with all my heart. God doesn't measure the possibilities of our lives by the size of our accomplishments. He looks at the willingness of our hearts.
We see our limitations. God sees what He can do through us.
We see the years we've lost, the opportunities we've missed, and the things we wish we'd done differently.
God sees a life He can still use. And what a wonderful thought that is!
Captain Buford died without ever seeing the Lancaster we know today. He never saw the full reach of his decisions.
Yet here we are, 229 years after the founding of our town, still telling his story.
Maybe the greatest blessing of your life hasn't happened yet.
Maybe the prayer you're praying today will change someone's tomorrow.
Maybe the opportunity God places before you will seem small, even insignificant.
And maybe, long after you're gone, its purpose will become clear.
I believe that when a person has a heart for God, there is no telling what He might accomplish through that life.
Not because we are extraordinary. But because He is. And someday, when our own journey comes to an end, what greater testimony could we hope to leave than these words: "I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith."
God bless Lancaster.
Restoring History. Building Community.
— Garrard Mills
