A Life Lived Well...

We attended the funeral of today of someone we've only known for a short time, and primarily through a mutual friend. We didn't know her well, and I am not a fan of funerals...so what compelled us to go?

The love of our mutual friend for this person. You see, we love our mutual friend and whom she loves, we love. Her heart is so big and so generous and so kind, it is impossible to think too ill of someone with whom she is so enamored. No, this wasn't a romantic love. This was love for a woman who lived well.

In her funeral service today, there was an "open mic" sharing time and the theme I heard over and over was that this was a woman who lived life to the fullest. She was a kindergarten teacher, long retired, and the children who had been her students, now grown with children of their own, remembered her as their favorite teacher. Longtime friends, and there were many, remembered that she was as strong and determined as the tide and yet gentle and soft-spoken with a word of encouragement for everyone she met.

We met her as the mother of our friend's "male friend," although I don't think they were officially dating for a couple of years. "Mama" attended some of our house parties. Our friends gather as often as we can to eat too much good food, drink wine we hope is good, and then settle down to play and sing worship songs. Mama had come from a more traditional, hymn-singing church tradition, but the joy on her face and the LIGHT in her eyes were all she needed to communicate that though she may not have known the lyrics, she knew the heart from which they came. She was a worshipper. And she became Mama to all of us in some way.

Today, in a small farming community, so many gathered to pay their respects and honor Mama that they had to set up a video feed and sound in an adjacent building to hold the overflow crowd. She'd touched so many. Hers was truly a life lived well.

We'll miss you Mama. Thank you for your smiles, your laughter, your joy and zest for life. Thank you for loving our friend and loving us with such complete acceptance. May we all learn from this remarkable woman that a kind deed, an encouraging word, and deep love for others are the legacy we should strive to leave behind. May we all live life so well.