Writing It As We Go

Today we celebrated the life of a wonderful 93 year old man who graduated from this life earlier this week. It wasn't a difficult ceremony to officiate as we had so many stories to share of his kindness, laughter, strength, and love. It is a tremendous relief to be able to tell these tales of a life well lived and to do so with the firm confidence of his position in heaven today. 

As I talked with several of his relatives after the service they were thankful for the words that we were able to share at his service. I told them each the same thought shared by our lead pastor with me through the years. While we grieve our loss, the ceremony is easy because he has been writing it for us so well his entire life.

The truth is that we are all writing our legacies now. It's reflected in the way we treat people around us, our reaction to life, the lessons we share, and the way we allow our God-blessed personalities to shine through. We're writing it through our devotion to following Christ and the passion created by sharing that with other people. It's found in laughter, tears, discipline, mistakes, accepting blame, sharing kindness, and a heart that wants what is best for the people they love. 

It doesn't have to be a legacy of perfection by any stretch of the imagination. I'll settle for one of consistent, genuine trust in God and a willingness to share His grace with the people in my life.