Bury Me With…

In a comment on that post, my friend Carol said that she had heard the same story, but the version she heard ended with the man being buried with the fork in his hand.

It didn’t occur to me until I read Carol’s comment that I should have included something I told my husband. I told him that I wanted to be buried holding onto that beribboned fork.

I mentioned that to Carol in my comment back to her which triggered one of those idea bulbs: what else do I wish to have buried with me?

Not that it will make any difference; I won’t know anyway!

Is it another object, like the fork? Or is it something more intangible, like the good thoughts of others? If that’s the case, then how did they see my life?

I love this quote from Will Rogers…

Will I be buried with others’ whispers of animosity or words of acclamation for a well-lived life?

A couple of years ago, I wrote another post called Dash Days: Wasted or Worthwhile? I wrote about that dash between the dates on one’s gravestone. In part, I wrote this:

Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians is also for us. He pointed out that their “daily lives should not embarrass God but bring joy to Him Who invited you into His Kingdom to share His glory.” (1 Thess. 2:12 TLB)

How, then, do we make the right decisions to honor the Lord within us? What will keep us within His safe borders? The answer? Knowing the Lord, staying rooted in His Word, and trusting Him to help us make the right choices.

Scripture tells us how to make our days worthwhile through the words of Solomon, “I, Wisdom, will make the hours of your day more profitable and the years of your life more fruitful” (Prov. 9:11 TLB), and Isaiah, “I shall walk carefully all my years.” (Is. 38:15b NKJV)…

The effects of the decisions you make in your lifetime leave telltale signs of your character, and that is what people will remember about your dash days.

That thought prompts this thought: How am I living my life now? What is my life saying to others? Is it a parrot life? What memories will others have of me? That I was selfish or selfless? Loving or unloving? Honoring God or honoring self?

Paul told the Ephesians how to live, “So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” (Eph. 5:8b-9 NLT) I know I fail at times but I pray to live this out and always aim at the Bible’s other directives, to…

* “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2 NKJV)
* “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7 NKJVbury)
* “walk in wisdom” (Col. 4:5 NKJV)
* “walk in the truth” (3 John 3 NKJV)
* “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4 NKJV)
* “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col. 1:10 NKJV)

Will others remember that I did my best to live this kind of life?