A Life Well Lived

Just last week I celebrated my birthday. Even though I am no longer a child I still celebrate. I went so far as to remark on Facebook that there are only 49 years until my 100th birthday so my friends should mark their calendars now: October 10, 2059.

Was I being flippant? Not at all. I'm aware that I might not live that long and I'm not too worried about it one way or the other. I'm ready to go whenever. But I'm not in any hurry!

Amid the joking last week we mentioned a dear lady with whom many of us are acquainted. She would reach that 100 year milestone next October. But it wasn't just her longevity that made us marvel, it was the way she lived life.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

I've only known this lovely lady for 11 years but I've known members of her family since I was in high school back in the mid-'70s. We discovered that I'd sat near her niece in the clarinet section in band. And then there's a man that we love from our first pastorate in Indiana over 30 years ago. The man is her nephew! Small world!

But it gets better.

This dear lady's family tree now intersects ours. My grandson, Fen, is her great-great grandson!

Given the fact that many events have been happening in rapid succession recently it would be no surprise if someone as young as Fen got the idea that our family parties every weekend. And I'm pretty sure that the social calendar on the other side of the family has been just as full as ours!

Actually, I know that to be true.

This weekend was to be their family's party celebrating Fen's great-great grandma's 99th birthday. And celebrate they did, but not as they hoped. They laid her body to rest today. Oh, she's still celebrating and so are they in a manner of speaking, but whereas she REALLY knows how to celebrate they can only celebrate a life remembered. Her faith became sight but they only see through a glass darkly right now.

As I thought back to my birthday celebration last weekend, I couldn't help but think about the things that we said. I'd like to share them in her honor. This is my tribute to a beautiful woman who knew how to live life to the fullest.

• She got older but she never got old. When she feared becoming a burden to her children she found a nursing home and went there to live. Stories were told of those going to visit her being told that she could only give them a few minutes because she was scheduled to be at the game room, beauty parlor, etc.
• Her mind was sharp all the way until the end. She knew each one by name, all the way down to her youngest grandchild, Fen.(I know the mental faculties were not her own doing, but some who have them don't use them well. She did.)When the family was called to her bedside this week she took names! She wanted to know where certain individuals were and when they would be there.
• Her family was her greatest joy.  She attended every bridal or baby shower that she could. It was her delight to be the matriarch sitting benignly in the wheelchair while her multi-generational brood frolicked around her.I loved watching her at these events.
• She knew how to suffer without being insufferable.  I don't remember hearing her complain about any regrets or struggles. Did she have them? Sure she did! She outlived a husband and a dear daughter but she was of that hardy breed that accepts the sorrows as well as the celebrations with grace and dignity.
• She knew her hope was in her Savior.Jesus paid for her sins. She trusted Him.

I pray that I remember these precepts if I live to be 100 or if I never live to see another birthday. Each day is a precious gift from God: a life well loved is a life well lived.

To her dear family, my prayers are with you as you remember the life of your wonderful mother/grandmother/great grandmother/great-great grandmother. May the peace that passes understanding comfort your hearts.