Thoughtful Thursday & Funerals
ON THE BLOG
FUNERALS
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a funeral of my son-in-law’s father, Dale.
A celebration of a life well-lived but one not without great challenges.
Times like these can provide an opportunity for personal reflection.
So many thoughts have been on my mind this week.
I share a lot of them on this week’s podcast episode.
You can listen to it HERE.
Two days prior to Dale’s passing was the birth of our shared granddaughter, Rosemary.
Birth and death so close together.
Life is what happens in-between the two.
We come into this world to live until we leave it which we will ALL do.
What we do in the meantime is up to us.
As I consider the life of this man, who I have come to have great respect for, I am touched by his example.
Some words he lived by:
“Everyone has a story. We really can’t judge others because we don’t know their whole story.”
“Don’t let the little things get in the way of what matters most.”
“Family is everything.”
“Say, ‘I love you’ as much as you can.”
Dale battled serious health challenges most of his adult life.
Yet, this was a man who understood that our circumstances don’t make us happy.
If the opposite was true, how could he be so happy?
Happiness is a choice.
He continued to choose happiness everyday no matter what challenges he faced in life.
And that choice influenced all who knew him.
I know Dale wasn’t perfect but he lived “all in” on his life.
With the time he was on this earth, he truly lived.
He lived a life without a lot of what the world would deem grand or important.
I believed he lived something better.
He lived an intentional life because he knew, really knew, life is a gift.
None of us know when our time here will be done.
So, here is my invitation.
How can we really start living this one life we’ve each been given?
How can we learn from the example of this great man?
How are we spending the time we have left?
How can we be more intentional?
How can we choose happiness more?
How can we be more of the person we want to be?
How can we live a life of love?
How can we show more compassionate toward those whose whole story is unknown to us?
How can we focus on the things that matter most to us?
