Who Will Write Your Eulogy By: Harold Stockburger A few weeks back I had the honor and privilege to write and give the eulogy for my father-in-law. Sitting here now, recalling the moment I put those words to paper gives me a stark realization that they came amazingly easy, for they were not about me, they were words that totally encapsulated a life already lived. The ease at which those words came to mind had to do with the type of life he had lived and actually very little to do with my knowledge or abilities to write or speak. You see, he wrote his eulogy long before I put it on paper. With that conscious awareness, it occurs to me that our eulogy in actuality is written every day that we are blessed to breathe the breath that God placed within us. Understandably, no one can really write it for us. Now, I am well aware that there are great speakers who can make anybody sound great with their words, but the reason my delivery was easy is because every word was true of the greatness of the man we all loved and appreciated. Being well aware of this reality, my mind cannot help but wonder just how easy it will be for my eulogy to be written. On that fateful day, will the person delivering it be able to say that I was a true friend, or will they recall the number of bridges I have burned in my lifetime? Will I be praised for being a good son, husband, father, brother, grandfather, or will I be remembered as one who was negligent in those areas? Not that I necessarily think of myself as a failure, but none of us ever truly know how well we are affecting those around us until we are no longer around to see. May God help me to live my life in such a way as to make a difference in my family’s life today and not just after I am gone? Most important of all, will I be remembered as a man who showed Christ to others in the way I lived my life? Of all the responsibilities we have in life, there is none more important than this. If we fail at this most basic requirement of our Heavenly Father, then we truly are a failure and deserve to never be remembered at all. It has been said that our lives are the only sermon some people ever will hear, my prayer is I live my life in such a way as it points others to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Every day, I am reminded of just how short life really is, hardly a month passes that someone that I loved or have known in my lifetime passes away. While I know this may sound like a cliché, none of us knows when we will draw our last breath on this earth. For many of us our eulogy has already been written, and for those of us who still have a little time left on this earth, the pen is still in our hands. The passing of my father-in-law has taught me the importance of living my life as a testament of who I really am. It has also shown me the importance of never taking your family for granted. When the last song has been played, the eulogy is folded and put in a drawer somewhere, and the last shovel of dirt is thrown over us, our family will have only memories. Will those memories be of a life lived to its fullest with love for one another, or will they be just empty words spoken by someone to make us appear better than our reality. With these thoughts in mind, let me ask you again, who will write your eulogy? In the coming days, months, and years that you may have left, will you as I, do some soul searching and make the changes necessary to where you can be honored in a truthful manner. Here is a little something to think about; if you could write one sentence of your eulogy to sum up your life, what would that sentence say? Are you prepared to leave this world with that sentence, or do you want to change it? Just remember that every minute of every day you are writing your eulogy, make yourself proud!
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 21:30:01 +0000
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