Obituary

This post has been several days in the making. Hopefully that won't mean it turns out to be a novel, but if it does, dear reader, know that what you're reading is heartfelt and genuine- not just fluff.

I'd like to start with a story about a man. This man was, for the majority of his life, a munitions manufacturer- meaning he made guns. This was his job, it was what he was good at. It was not WHO he was. He was a scientist. He actually invented dynamite.

One day his brother passed away. The news got out and it was to be reported in the newspapers. One of the newspapers ran the story, but mistakenly heard that it was this man who had died, not his brother. Which gave this man a rare opportunity- he was able to read his obituary while still alive.
He hated what he read. The obituary told about how he was the father of death; it described him as the man who made it possible to kill more people more quickly than anyone else had ever been able to.

That was not what he wanted to be remembered for.
This glimpse at how the world saw him gave him the perfect opportunity to change. He became a humanitarian, and encouraged ideas for the betterment of society. And to honor those ideas, he created The Nobel Peace Prize, named after himself.

Now doesn't that make you think? Does that not make you stop and look at your own life and wonder- what will I be remembered for? How do people see you now? What things have you done that they will remember about you? Will you be remembered at all? Will your family mourn your passing and think of what a blessing it was to have you in their life? Or will they only remember the things you accomplished- your job?

What do you think your obituary would say about you if you died today?
Is that what you WANT it to say?
If it isn't- what DO you want it to say? What pieces of you would you want printed in black and white to be the last article of information people will have about you?
And lastly- how will you go about changing yourself to be who you want your obituary to say you were?

I had an idea to ask random friends to send me a letter that they would write me if they knew I was dying tomorrow- just to see what they would say about me, if anything. Unfortunately, aside from feeling uncomfortably egotistical, I wasn't sure their responses would be bare-bones truthful, after all, I'm NOT dying tomorrow- or hopefully for a long time now, so they might be afraid if they said something hurtful I wouldn't be their friend anymore. So I opted not to go through with the test.
However, I'm still analyzing myself and my life, trying to figure out what I believe would be said about me. What parts of me do I KNOW stick out like thorns on a rose bush? Do I need to prune those parts back, or feed them Miracle Grow? Perhaps I need the help of an experienced, and professional gardener to aid in my pruning. Perhaps I need God to feed me Miracle Grow.

Life isn't just about living day to day, surviving through it. It's not about going on and on day to day doing the same thing over and over until you die. At least, that's not what I believe.
I believe each and every one of us is here for a reason. I believe from the billionaire on Wall Street, to the crack head under the 65 bridge, and everyone in between, that we all have a reason to be. And because I am a Christan, I believe God gives us purpose. Not everyone is going to succeed- but if it weren't for others' failures, how would anyone learn anything? Your purpose may not be to invent the next greatest thing. Your purpose may be to fail 1000 times so that someone else can learn from your mistakes and do it right. While you may lose the human glory that comes along with the success, you've served your purpose for God, and to me, that's way more important.
Just because we only live 100 or less years and we're striving for Heaven in the afterlife doesn't mean God didn't want us to do SOMETHING here on Earth.

So think about what you might have in your obituary now, and think about what you WANT to be in it. Then act. Make goals to achieve; goals that will get you to where you want to be.
You may not be as remembered as Alfred Nobel, but your significant other, brothers, sisters, parents, children, grandchildren- whoever it is you leave behind, they will remember you. What will they remember you for?