I used to wonder if life wasn't "just a bump in the road." I remember saying as much to my sister when my dad died at this time twenty years ago. I never dwelt on that...it was more a feeling than a belief actually. It just came on strong when a near-and-dear died. I'm guessing that's why I so distinctly recall when I said that to my sister for I got a jolt...a "that can't be true" jolt.
Since then I have come to understand that we ourselves determine whether our lives are just a bump in the road or we live on. We can do nothing for anybody but ourselves, live an entirely self-protected life...doing neither good nor ill...and be a bump in the road. Dead and gone...not even a memory left behind.
Or we can live on. It is the love that we expressed through our thoughts, words and actions in the service of others that make the difference...that lives on.
My realization came fully clothed recently when I heard a recorded talk of Sandy B's. It was shortly after his death, and his talk was about making a decision to be a forgiving person. The light came on in a specific area of my life, and I consciously thought that Sandy is still doing service work from heaven. And he will be every time anyone hears, say, "drop the rock." He lives on.
January 2nd was the twentieth anniversary of Daddy's death, and I've been thinking of how he still lives on. He had a very quick wit, people loved to be around him because they usually walked away laughing. He was both a well-loved and well-respected man in my home town. Many still quote him. I think of his living example of good, and I try to be like him...and I’m sure his Masonic brothers do, too.
I'm glad I know my life will not be just a bump in the road...I'm equally glad the same is true of yours.
Thank you.
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