In the past few months I had the privilege of attending the memorial service for not one, but two amazing men. These men both had long lives full of accomplishments too many to list. They were both hard workers and built their careers from the ground up. People traveled across the country to be at these memorials.

After their services, just months apart, it made me think about the similarities in the comments that were made when the speakers talked about their lives. They were both accomplished and had achieved much, but you know what was talked about more than anything?

How much they loved their family and the way they made people feel.

In the days leading up to the Memorial service and days afterwards people flooded social media with stories of their interactions with them. One of the pros of social media is that a story can be easily shared with many. Guess what a common theme was in all the stories that I read?

How much they loved their family and the way they made people feel.

When gathered together to celebrate someone’s life you never hear people discuss how many cars they owned, how much money they made, how big their house was, etc. but you do hear a common theme:

How much they loved their family and the way they made people feel.

Do you see a pattern? This really made me think. How do I want my story to read? What is truly important in this life? We have a way of over complicating things, but when you really think of what is important on this side of heaven it is to love God and love others. It really is that simple.

The achievements are great and should be celebrated and mentioned when summarizing someones life, but if they are the only thing to highlight then that is a tragedy. It is far more important to invest in relationships and helping others than it is to obtain another title. These men were able to do both- accomplish much while building relationships.

When I think about how I want to live the rest of my life I want to remember these men and try to live they way they did and focus all I can on loving my family and being there for others. That is how I want my story to read. How about you?

Until next time,