A Life Well Lived 

   “Abandon foolishness so that you may live; walk in the way of my understanding.” (Proverbs 9: 6) 

   Have I lived a life well lived?  I have made many decisions over the years; I hope most were right, but I have no confidence in that hope.  I know that I’ve also made many foolish decisions in life.

   I grew up in a small town in western Kentucky in the 50’s and 60’s.  The world was vastly different then.  On the one hand there was a respect for the Lord that has virtually disappeared today.  Yet, there was also the evil of racism and bias, a condition far too common in those days and one that lingers even today.  Was my childhood well lived?  Somehow I suspect there were many deficiencies.

   I chose to serve my country and spent twenty years in the U.S. Navy.  Again, there were many decisions to be made.  Did I make the right ones?  Yes and no, but I suppose that is true of all of us.  Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we miss the mark.

   I’ve been blessed with the love of two incredible women in my life.  God has been good to me, and I pray that I’ve repaid His generosity adequately.  Still, I’m human and humans can always be counted on to mess things up from time to time.

   There is however, one decision, one choice, I’ve made that I have absolute confidence in: giving myself over to the will of God.  Has it made my life perfect?  Of course not, there is no perfection in this world.  What it has done is convinced me that no matter what comes my way, if it is the will of God, it is the right thing.

   I’ve come to understand that I cannot, of my accord, live a life well lived.  Only with the help of my heavenly Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit can a life be well lived.

   My prayer is that on judgement day I will hear the words, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25: 34).  May God have mercy on my soul.