a life well lived. . .

what really do our lives consist of?

what is the measure of success?

i have been thinking about this since spending friday and saturday with miss pat in the far west. miss pat has lived in haiti for over 25 years. she just started a mission in the far west about 3 years ago. she is in her seventies. (i won't tell exactly how old :)!) many of us at her age would be looking at how we can be wrapping up our lives, not how we can start a new mission. she always has and continues to meet each day and face the challenges it holds, to meet each person where they are and do what she can for them. she sees around 20 patients a day in a small clinic, has a feeding program for the elderly in her area, and has started a kindergarten. there is hardly a person in this area who probably wasn't influenced by her life here in haiti one way or another. i can't but help think that she has lived life well.

these little guys were at the bottom of the stairs yesterday looking up and calling - rolgard, rolgard!! this is john, stephen and den. they are three children who stay in our home for disabled children. they can't talk, but each of them are able to make the sounds to call for rolgard one of their caregivers who does therapy with them. to me that shows that he has shown them love and compassion, that he has touched their lives. his is a live well lived.

i hope that each day i can look back and say that i have accomplished that day what was set before me. i hope that when i look back over my life it will be with the mindset that it was a life well lived. not what program i have started or ran, but more whose lives i have been involved with. whether they were shown love, gentleness, patience, kindness. if i had lived with goodness, peace and joy. i hope that mine can be a life well lived.