Today's Funeral

Today I went to a funeral for an 86-year-old woman who I met, but never got to know well. She was the mother/grandmother of a family I've become very close to over the past few years. I have been the Bible study leader for the children in this family and we've even gone on vacation together. They've become like family to me.

Lee, the father of the family and the woman's son, gave the eulogy. He is not a man of many words. However, he had written out about 3 pages of loving memories about his mom.

Here's what got me. All I knew about this woman was what I saw; immobile, difficult to communicate with, reliant on others. The words in her eulogy showed me a side of her I wish I could have known; hospitable, art-lover, traveler.

She lived this full life that I never knew about until Lee gave her eulogy.

Funerals have a way of making us evaluate the people we are and the people we're becoming. I'm accomplishing some good goals in my life, but am I "who I want to be" as Switchfoot sings? I love to be hospitable, but am I doing it. There are a lot of things I love to do, but don't do them. I need to get passed some roadblocks that hold me back. I'm finally starting to travel. It's good to know I'm doing that right.

One of my favorite sayings is, "I want my last words to be, 'Hey guys, watch this!'"

I don't know if I really want those to be my last words, but I'd like to be known as a person who made life happen for myself and others. Was I hospitable? Did I go places? Did I let roadblocks hold me back or did I find a way around them?

I'm doing pretty good. I want to do great.