Last Saturday I attended a funeral mass for a friends mother. I hadn't seen my friends mother for a very long time. I'm not sure that she would have recognized or remembered me.
Her mass was packed wall to wall. There must have been 500 people at mass that Saturday morning. I couldn't help but think that this woman had touched many lives.
After a homily that included many wonderful stories about her life, two eulogies were given. One was from a close friend, and the other was from a person who was a member of a organization where my friends mother volunteered. Both eulogies were funny and gave a good insight into her life. They didn't overplay the good and ignore the bad, they humanized her, and that was refreshing.
As we were leaving the after mass gathering, I turned to M. and said...
You know what I was thinking, I was thinking that I really haven't done much with my life. M. responded, that she had been thinking the same thing about herself.
In contrast to the life that my friends mother had led... one filled with volunteer work and devotion to her family and church. I felt that I had accomplished little.
Over the last week I have had the opportunity to think about this more. What I believe, is that perhaps everyone has a different way of giving. We are not all volunteers. We are not all parents or parishioners. We give in the way we are comfortable with, and it isn't always measurable in time, or value against the deeds of others.
What if being a good husband, brother or friend is all I accomplish?
Perhaps that is enough.
- ND
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