Why am I here? Measuring a life

My mother-in-law passed away this week and I’ve been writing. Funeral notice for the newspaper, an obituary for the funeral home website, her life story for the back of the bulletin, reflections for the service.

I process by writing and I started my reflections before her passing. My husband’s family are practical farm people who prefer tasks with tangible outcomes like mowing hay, making soup or arranging flowers. They are the salt of the earth, the reason you had food for breakfast today. They are not big on why questions; my head swirls full of them.

What values do your actions demonstrate?

In contemplating my mother-in-law’s long life, I asked myself: what values did her actions demonstrate? For example, she loved flowers. You will not meet anyone who delighted more in receiving a cheap bunch of mums from the grocery store.

I never heard her cite the verse “Consider the lilies,” but she did just that as often as she could.

She appreciated the beauty of the world around her and valued the gift of each day. Her actions demonstrated gratitude.

I would like my actions to demonstrate gratitude too. I would be delighted if in my life, people caught glimpses of kindness and generosity, and heard whispers of prayer. How do you want to be remembered?