I was sharing with my friend, Jeremiah, last week about my dad being put on hospice. I told him my dad had lived a good life and been so capable that even at ninety years old he was still running the family farm partnership.

He is absolutely one of the most brilliant people I have ever met and also one of the kindest. Even though he suffered from horrible arthritis since he was twenty-three years old he never snapped or was unkind to anyone due to the horrific pain he endured.

I can remember coming home from a long distance run when I was training for track, my legs screaming out with pain, and watching him limp across the yard from his pain. I remember thinking that I was enduring pain for my own selfishness but my dad was enduring his pain because he loved his family and wanted to provide for them.

Recently I traveled home to be with him and my family. The week I spent at home was one of the best weeks of my life. Not because it was stress-free but because every day I made a point to visit my dad in the nursing home and help feed him or tell him I loved him.

I also talked with the hospice nurses to make sure they were not giving him too much morphine and was assured that they were not.

In talking with Jeremiah we discussed the process of living and dying and what kind of legacy I hoped to achieve.

My dad has left the legacy of the family farm. The management of it has only recently been passed on to my sister. In addition to that, my father has left me with so many wonderful memories. He was a terrific role model in many different areas.

As the discussion between Jeremiah progressed I told Jeremiah that I believe life would be more meaningful for people if we lived more for death than for life.

What kind of legacy will you leave when you die?

Will it be a legacy of taking advantage of others for your own benefit? Will it be working so hard for material possessions that you don’t even know your own family? Will it be a life of bitterness and unforgiveness for wrongs done to you or your perception of wrongs done to you?

Or will it be devoting your life to fulfilling God’s will for your life and if wealth is a part of that sharing with those less fortunate?