What will they say?

Do you ever look back on things and think, ‘Where did all that time go?’ I’m rather a nostalgic person and I have rather a few moments like these. Moments when you stop and realize that you haven’t read your bible in days. You haven’t taken time out to talk to so-and-so in weeks. You haven’t had the time to take a long bath in months.

It’s easy to get stuck in the same cycle though. ‘I haven’t’ done this, ‘I haven’t’ done that. But what have I done? What have I achieved in the last couple of years that I wouldn’t have had a hope of doing, had I been spending the whole time in the bath?!

I was in a graveyard the other day (not my usual hang-out, I hasten to add) that was set up after the war. I started reading a few of the gravestones and then couldn’t stop. I was so intrigued by the messages that friends and relatives had had engraved on the bottom. The more I read the more I was overwhelmed with emotion. I started snapping pictures frantically.

What were the stories behind these people? Where were they born? Who were there friends? Who was their first crush? Where was their first kiss? Did they have a favourite place to go on sunny days? How did they spend those lazy moments to themselves?

Who were they?!?!

The more messages I saw, the more my mind ran wild with the possibilities of what their lives could have been like. I wanted to meet these people. I wanted to know these people.

And then it hit me… What can be said for my life? I don’t mean this in a morbid way, as I have no intention of dying anytime soon (Unless, of course, my father calls me home, in which case I won’t stay out after curfew!) but I wondered what would be said about me. What do I mean to people? What have I achieved?

I saw a quote the other day, that I can’t entirely remember, but it went something like this…

‘What will your legacy be? Will you lead a life worth living? Or will you force people to stand up and lie at your funeral?’

Hard hitting... But it hit home.

There is a video, which I plan to blog about in the future, called ‘I will wait for you’. One part really stood out for me. It is the ultimate of eulogies: (I have altered the words slightly)

‘The boldness of Esther. The warm closeness of Ruth. The hospitality of Lydia. The submission of Mary. The tears of the praying Hannah.

She was the one drenched in Proverbs 31.’

I could tell you (and myself) to live like there's no tomorrow. Take every opportunity. Dance in the rain. And smile like you mean it... always. But I'm sure you've heard all that before. Instead think of this...

When your time comes, what will they say?