The Tracks of Life

Yesterday I was greatly inspired. I was inspired to live my life to make a difference: to be a woman of prayer and people. The source of the inspiration was the celebration of a woman in her 100th year who held sway over the flower filled venue from a closed casket.

It is an oxymoron to enjoy a funeral, but enjoy the funeral I did. Not that I knew the deceased very well. In fact, if I was to sit down next to her, she would have very directly asked me, "Who are you?" She was not known for tact or diplomacy. She wasn't known for fuzzy wuzzies or tender hearted embraces. She was known for her quick wit, a keen mind right up to 99, a competitive spirit and a deep love for the Lord and his bride, the church.

I was inspired on two levels: to love others and to finish well.

It was refreshing to hear the eulogy of a young woman in her twenties for a woman in her nineties. To hear of her deep love for some-one who was her grandmother in every sense except as defined in the Oxford dictionary. In our youth centred culture, we dismiss as unimportant and of lesser value those for whom the blush of youth has passed. And yet what value there is in building friendships and lasting relationships with those who are not our peers: to give and receive input and love across the generational divide.

I was reminded again to live my life so as to finish well. We do not know how long our track of life will be. Is it a short 23 years, a mid-length 47 years or a long haul to 99? Whatever it may be, we have one life to live, one opportunity to enrich the lives of others, and we live that life one day at a time.

May we, when our track in this world runs out, hear the words of our Master, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"