I feel as though I have been living at the hospital. When you are a pastor you spend a fair amount of time walking with people on their road of grief. Of course, there is only so much you can do but you do your best to pray the right prayer, say the right words and sometimes you just shut up and sit with them in silence.

When you are around serious illness and death you tend to think about life in a different manner. It is a gift really to have these experiences. I try hard to not take them lightly but allow them to motivate me to make every second count. Death comes to everyone and when we pass from this life all of the stuff we have acquired will matter very little. In fact, before we pass from this life the things of this earth can become not quite as important as we thought they were. I believe that what matters most is how we touch others lives. How we give of our time, talents, treasures and touch to others. The legacy you leave will more than likely not be a building with your name on it but it will be the memory of love that you leave behind you in the minds of those around you.

The picture above is not meant to be morose but simply the plain pine box that I have requested to be used when my time on this earth is over. Don't be afraid to think of death especially if it leads you to live your life in better more effective way.