Looking for just the right epitaph? You might start with the Old Testament designation, “old and full of years.” Applied only to a special few—Job, Abraham, Jehoiada—the term bears tribute to both the longevity of a patriarch and the quality or significance of that person’s life.
Not quite ready to die? (You’d like to live purposefully for a few more years?) Simple adjustment: Discard the “old” part of this epitaph and think about the fullness of your living today. Now you have a way of describing the significance of your life.
“Full of years” is what these short blogs will help you to grasp about your life. What you can accomplish, relish and share. Think of these short entries as devotions: Ways to connect to the spirit or spirituality that’s bubbling around in your brain. Ideas and encouragements to find what abundance can mean at a time in life when most things seem to be getting shorter, smaller, weaker or weirder. To live with the assurance that, no matter what’s going on, you can still experience beauty, wonder, meaning, usefulness. Perhaps you can stay close to God and others precisely because you are old!
I’m with you on this. Not a spring chicken, I’ve been around many of the trees you’ve circumscribed with your life. I know pain and sorrow, and I’ve harbored more than a few doubts about coming closer to the end of my days. I also get excited about what’s still happening, what’s still possible, what’s still good about living in these times. I’m a Christian guy, believing that in the witness and life of Jesus the Christ I can find fullness in what others might otherwise see as the dull or diminished part of their life.
As for epitaphs, let’s wait awhile, hmm….?
