Finishing well

Did you ever notice how life can get in the way of our goals?

…of what we think we should do with our life?

Strange but true.

Not only life…  but death can also get in the way of goals.

Not just in the obvious way, but even a death in the family can cause a sudden shake-up to our schedule and what we think we’re supposed to do with our time.

We experienced a death in the family this week.  

My schedule got flipped upside down.  

Plans and appointments got changed.

Goals and disciplines went out the window…  at least some of them.

…

My mom finished her life goals this week. At 92, she was ready to go.  Heaven was her next goal.  She had planned her funeral service and even pre-planned it… meaning she had pre-paid for her funeral package and all the details on file.  For months and years she planned and pre-planned and then RE-planned…  

When she was able to focus on life and living, her main goal and objective was to love people and serve them.  Serve them food if possible, but if she didn’t have food to offer, she’d find something else.  

When she ran out of things to do, she would re-visit her funeral plans. “Is there anything more I should do…?”

Sometimes she got confused between focusing on life or death.  So in our daily phone calls, she might start through her mental list: 

• I’d like to contact so-and-so.  
• I want to take care of this or that. 
• Did we get this figured out for the funeral?
• Maybe I can offer to sing for my friend - or pray for her. 
• I need some treats that I can share with the other residents.

She wanted to finish well.

…

Some days I get confused about my focus, too. 

How do I choose between the urgent and the important?  

How do I adjust my goals for the week while trying to plan a funeral during a pandemic?  

What will happen to my monthly goals? 

Expectations need to be adjusted - obviously. 

I need to take care of my own physical, mental, and emotional health.  

I want to be flexible but I also want to be intentional about the important stuff.   

With the month running out of days, I still want to finish well.

Fortunately I had a good example.