A Life Well Lived

I follow a blog John Stumbo writes about his mysterious journey into a mysterious disease....his blog link is on the right side bar under inspiring blogs.... Today, John writes about a lady I knew from afar, was always impressed with and felt good about life and myself when around her. She was often up front playing the panio with gusto and life you rarely see in churches these days and she was strikingly beautiful inside and out. I know little about her life but I do know she over came many odds just to be able to perform and play music like she did. She passed away this week due to cancer. I pasted in John's tribute to her because it brought tears to my eyes and clarity to my goals. It is a poem about her and how she lived her life. I found it such a complete and inspiring list of qualities I wanted to have.

                                               

I CELEBRATE A LIFE

I celebrate a life well lived,

A story well told,

A song well sung.

I celebrate a woman who

Knew how to be a friend and receive friendship,

Give and receive love.

I celebrate a woman who

Heard permission to be herself

And lived it out well.

I celebrate a woman who

Tasted grace and

Passed its inviting flavor along to those she met.

I celebrate a woman

Who searched and searched until she found the Father’s heart

In the midst of suffering.

I celebrate a woman

Who felt God tapping her on the shoulder to awaken her

To spend time with Him in the morning.

I celebrate a woman who mastered

And then rejected

The broadly accepted art of “image management.”

I celebrate a woman

Who carried well the banner of truth-telling

And modeled authenticity for the rest of us.

I celebrate a woman who knew

That the Lion of Judah was not a tame lion

And resisted attempts to make Him jump through our hoops.

I celebrate a woman who didn’t volunteer for her challenge—

Who never would have chosen to walk the path of cancer—

But faced it courageously.

I celebrate a woman who worshiped Jesus with all her heart

And now has the pleasure of doing so

In His presence.

I celebrate the life of Lorelei Friesen

Who was carried from this life to the next

On this day, August 20, 2010.

Life is fragile. Death is emminent.

What would people write about you after you have passed on?

Begin today to live. Chose truth, chose Jesus and you will not be disappointed.