What I hope they say about me….
Like most of us, I like to think that when other people talk about me, it’s in a positive light. Or contrary to what most people assume, I’m a very private person, so to be honest, I rather like to think I’m not on someone’s radar, lest they see too many faults. 🙂 But if I were to wonder, I’d guess perhaps they would think I was funny or always positive. I hope they say I am kind and generous and sincerely love to serve. Some might call me mean (I can think of a few instances my kids called me mean, or just the other day a playful shout-out from a client who decided both burpees and I were very mean). 🙂
But, I decided that if there could be just one quality about me that best described who I am, I would want to be known as grateful.
A few weeks ago, a close friend of mine lost her mom. I had the privilege of meeting her a few times and can still remember the first time I met her, sometime during my freshman year of college, somewhere in the dorm halls where we’d all meet and greet our friends parents at one time or another. I remember I liked her immediately. I was struck with what my girlfriend wrote about her mom when she shared her passing. I have thought about it a lot since then. Liz wrote:
My precious mom died last Friday. Over the years, when people would ask about her, I would always say, “My mom is the most grateful person I know.” The older she got, the more grateful she became. Now that she is forever in the presence of Jesus, I have new understanding that I haven’t really understood the phrase “eternally grateful” until now.
Liz not only writes well, she is a professional speaker at Christian Conferences. It is always a gift to listen to Liz. Her words about her mom haven’t left me since she wrote them. With all my passions and goals, I hope more than anything else, I will be eternally grateful. Albert Schweitzer wrote, “at times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lit the flame within.” Thank you Liz’s mom for your spark. I am inspired and aspire to be your friend that ages gracefully and becomes evermore grateful.