For all the ways you may have been blessed
Or tried to bless others,
And all the ways you have received
Or given value in this life,
After all the ways that people measure contributions
Or celebrate distinction,
The greatest legacy you could ever leave
Is that you were loved first, and loved in return.
That takes a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
Nobody will care about the bills you paid
Or the stuff you drug home from stuff-selling places.
After all, everything you own
Will be in a landfill or ash heap one day.
In the end it doesn’t matter what you pursued
To fill the emptiness or break free of your prisons
Or even to pay those bills. What matters…
Is that you were loved first, and loved in return.
That takes a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
I never would have known what love was
Unless I had seen it and received it.
And for me to see and receive it,
Somebody had to go first.
I never would have known what love could do
Unless Somebody displayed it.
And for me to experience it,
Somebody had to love me more than I deserved.
That took a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
Talk about the mountains you’ve climbed
Or the accomplishments you have checked off…
Talk about the obstacles you have overcome
Or the breakthroughs you may have made…
Talk about the goals you may have pursued –
Some realized, many perhaps not…
None of that would matter,
Except that you were loved first, and loved in return.
That takes a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
Let everything else shut down today –
The world, the government(!), even your heartbeat…
What matters most is not your dreams,
Your treasures or your ambitious pursuits,
Or what you did with the words of the cynics
Or the fears of the anxious.
Ultimately the only thing that matters
Is that you were loved first, and loved in return.
That takes a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
I never would have known what love was
Unless I had seen it and received it.
And for me to see and receive it,
Somebody had to go first.
I never would have known what love could do
Unless Somebody displayed it.
And for me to experience it,
Somebody had to love me more than I deserved.
That took a lot of grace. And a little bit of faith.
And if by God’s goodness and blessing
This day is not our last opportunity
To say Thank You, or contribute,
Or serve or forgive or delight… what then?
More mountains to climb? More rivers to cross?
More cynics to defy or worries to confront? Maybe.
But what never grows old or tired
And is as new as a turning planet and rising sun…
Is that before my eyes ever saw the light of this day…
And long after yours close in rest tonight…
We were loved first and had the choice to love in return.
That takes a lot of grace; there’s plenty of that to spare.
It takes a little bit of faith. So…
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Amen, Andy! It’s all about love and grace and faith . . .
Blessings!
Martha Orlando´s last blog post ..Give Me a Break!
Excellent insights! You well described the absolute governing principle for the meaning of life’s journey: LOVE! Great work as always!!!
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