A Life Well Lived

I went to a funeral today. It isn't ever my favorite thing to do, especially when it is for someone who has made such a tremendous difference in so many lives.

Wayne Miller was unlike any other man I have ever met. I didn't know him for long, and I didn't know him all that well. He was a member of our church and an elder on session. My contact with him was limited, but the times I did have contact with him were priceless. Probably my biggest contact with Wayne was through his granddaughter, Kaitlyn, who is in the children's department. Katilyn adored her grandfather. If we were in the children's wing and she saw him, she ran to him with open arms to give him a hug. It was a love very reminiscient of the love I had for my grandparents and the sheer joy I had every time I saw them.

At Wayne's service today, I was struck by something. There was such diversity in the congregation, because Wayne touched so many lives - lives of young and old, black and white, rich and poor. And there were several words that resonated throughout the entire service: Character, integrity, honesty, faithfulness. These characteristics were who Wayne was.

Never before have I been as challenged in a funeral than I was today. Challenged to live my life more fully, more faithfully, and more honorably. Challenged to reach out to everyone I come in contact with every day. Challenged to stretch my faith and let go of the selfish things in life.

Wayne was an inspiration to all who knew him, and his family carries on that legacy with their faithfulness. The grace that they showed during Wayne's illness and death are unmatched. They are truly the products of a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend.

Wayne will be missed. His life was truly a life well lived, and a life that touches me and so many others in the deepest places.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

I Love Pottery Barn

So, what do you think?? I am almost 100% sure this is going to be Little Bit's nursery bedding. Not the greatest picture of it... but the moment I saw it I was IN.LOVE!!! CAL and I had been eyeing a set at Babies R Us, and I loved it, but didn't LOVE it. It just seemed like something was missing... It just didn't seem totally right.

Then the mailman delivered the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog today, and there it was. CAL even likes it! So, I think this will be it. We're even going to paint polka dots on the wall. Yippee! I can't wait!!!