“Monique,” I asked my daughter, “Since you’re going to Reserve, would you bring two arrangements to the cemetery?”

Monique repeated my request to her daughter Olivia, who began to cheer. They picked up my granddaughter Adeline and began their day.

Adeline and Olivia love to go to the cemetery (Don’t worry. We also go to the park, swimming pool, Disneyworld…). They’re too young to know the people whose graves we visit, but they love the stories I tell.

They’re also too young to realize that I head to the graveyard when I have a huge decision to make, for nowhere else are life’s priorities as clear. Tombstones become billboards that silently and somberly broadcast the brevity of life, and my perspective shifts from ‘here and now’ to ‘there and forever.’ I’m challenged to make choices that will positively affect my life and the lives of those in my sphere of influence. The decisions I make determine the legacy I’ll leave.

The Gospel of Mark tells the story of a woman who broke a jar of very expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus’ head. He defended her action and honored her sacrifice when He said, “I tell you the truth, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Mark 14:9).

Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is recorded in the very next verse. Two very different stories placed right next to each other in the Bible serve as a warning for me. The first is a story of great sacrifice; the second is one of greedy selfishness.

One day, should a descendant of mine stumble upon my name etched on a tombstone, I hope they think that the life I led clearly reflected the Jesus I love.

 

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.