sisterhood stories - how do you measure a life...

{As you will read from the following, this post was a hard one for me to write.  Really all posts are hard for me but, this was exceptionally hard.  I wrote this 2 years ago (Aug. 2010) and never posted it.  I have a problem writing things and never posting. Here I am two years later mustering the guts to push the publish button.  One of my goals this year is to take more risks.  And letting people get to know me better is a risk.  I'm risking that through my writing.  So here we go...}

I've had a difficult time writing this post.  I've written, re-written, edited and re-edited so many times over the past couple of weeks. The words don't fit or do justice. I have something to say but, it's too hard to say.

My father-in-law, Gary, passed away three weeks ago after a long and courageous battle with cancer. My sister-in-law, Kourtney, and I were given the honor of gathering and compiling photos from his life and making a display for the funeral.  While compiling pictures I was challenged with how to show an ENTIRE life.  How do I show everything he accomplished, everyone he loved, what he valued, his personality, his hobbies, his life's profession, his character, and the lives he touched.  Ultimately...how do you measure a life?

“The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer

Schooling, hobbies, marriage, family, awards, church service, organizations contributed to, humanitarian efforts, etc. all could be counted as accomplishments.  In today's society a marriage of 40+ years and children who still like you are major accomplishments.  Gary cared about family and was always there for the important things in our lives:  weddings, birth of Ashley, bringing home of Jaden and Emma, adoption finalization of Jaden and Emma, birthdays, holidays, baby blessings, baptisms, and just being there for us when we needed him.  

The one thing that stands out about my father-in-law is that...everyone felt as if they were his best friend.  He was kind, generous, always willing to help.  He didn't speak ill of others and always tried to see the best in them.

When it all comes down to it I believe a life is measured by ones legacy...what kind of impact they had on the world.  I wish that I could've shown in pictures the countless hours and ways he served...instead it was shown by the amount of people who attended his viewing and funeral to pay their respects to a man who touched their lives.  So many good things were said and many thanks paid to his children and wife for the man he was.

Relationships were so very important to him so we made sections:
Youth, Brother, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Friend and Hobbies

Here are pictures from two of the displays...

Gary is a wonderful example of a life well lived and one who will be always remembered by the kind man he was.  I truly hope that my legacy is one of kindness, friendship, service, love and family.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said it perfectly, "To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."  He succeeded...

This blog post is part of a blog circle, Sisterhood Stories.  Follow along and visit my friend, Jane.

xoxo,  Kristi