Tuesday, March 19, 2013

"I did it my way"

So, last week as a glanced through the obits - yes, I confess, I do check them from time to time.  Maybe it has something to do with having more years behind and less ahead  LOL
Anyway, I was reading one and it said "John lived his life John's way".  That line struck me hard. I had two immediate thoughts - the first was 'how sad'.  The second was - 'I hope they don't say that about me.' ( Now I have no idea who this person was, or if he lived a good life.  I am just journalling my thoughts about what I read. It is not a judgement on John at all.)
That little line caused me a great deal of reflection for days. I think it made me sad because if I read it with my name in there it would mean that I lived my life on my own terms, my way, doing my own thing - kind of seemed empty to me, and self-centered.
And, it made me think about what someone would write on my obit, or my gravestone. 
Would it say:  Susan lived her life Susan's way or Susan lived her life Christ's way.  I want it to say the latter, and I hope it would.  But I have to ask myself, does the way I live my life give people enough evidence to prove that? Sadly, not always.
When I lived in the corporate world we learned a time management system and one of the points was "Begin with the end in mind".  They asked us to write our own grave stone, the idea being that we need to live our lives to make that statement true.
What would I want on my gravestone?  What would I want people to say at my funeral?
What I would want, is for people to say I lived my life Christ's way, that I was a Jesus follower, a reflection of Him, that it was all about Jesus and not about me.
Heavy thoughts to ponder..... 
What about you?  What would you want on your gravestone?


No comments: