Legacy

Some of my favorite people in the world lost their father today. I guess lost is the wrong word, they know where he is, but he has passed on from earth. I'm not sure why this has impacted me so much, why I sit here with tears streaming down my face, but the more I think about it, the more I realize the impact this man had.

I didn't know him well, but I know most of his kids and grandkids. They are amazing people. This man has left behind a legacy of people who are impacting the world wherever they are. They have those family bonds that make other families jealous. They are making movies, being creative, being musical, adopting high needs children, affecting whatever community they live in and in general, leaving the world a better place than they found it. 

These friends of mine are truly amazing, not that they don't have flaws and struggles and challenges, but they rise to the challenge, they face their struggles and they work on their flaws better than most people I know. These are broad strokes I'm taking to describe them, but truly they are beautiful people.

And my thoughts are for legacy and what we leave behind. If my legacy is half as amazing as his was, I'll have a good thing. And you know, the thing is, they're all just following their dreams because they were told that they could. Because a father & mother supported them and cheered them on. They poured into their children and their grandchildren and they have a living legacy to show for it.

Maybe I'm trying to be too deep about this, but as my heart grieves with my friends, it also rejoices for what is still here. It's difficult to express in words the love I feel for my extended family, and how I grieve with them, but there it is.


For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Sometimes the Process Stinks

I went to the gym today. It was awesome to go to the gym and chat with the owner who's a friend of mine, but some days I really don't enjoy the process of working out. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't find a workout that's more fun and completely suited to me. In fact I go to a place called 30 Minute Hit and they're awesome. It's a kickboxing circuit and you can go at your own pace and do what you need to do for you at each station. Anyway, not the point. Some days you just don't wanna go through the process, you know?

To be all philosophical about it, that really applies to my life in general more frequently than I'd like to admit. The process may absolutely stink. Sweat, tears (and sometimes vomit - tmi - I know) the energy it takes to get through it all. Job hunting and having to go through interviews. Dating and having to go through what feels like a thousand terrible first dates before you find someone worth keeping. The junk-room/"office"/place-you-throw-all-that-crap-you-have-to-go-through. There are a million things that require process. Oh! How about becoming patient, or persevering or disciplined - those all take process too.

I don't quite know what my point is, other than sometimes the process totally sucks and still we do it. Why? Because the end result is worth it. Being able to keep up when a bunch of friends go for a bike ride and because I stuck it out in the gym I can actually breathe when I'm out with all the athletes (which I am so not!). Or looking in the office which is supposed to double as a spare room and actually being able to let someone stay there (I'm not there yet). Or going through the interviews and getting better each time until you actually have more than one offer on the table and you get to choose the better job for you.

Anyway... keep going. I'm going to do my best. Though it certainly helps that I have someone bugging me to make sure I go (accountability is annoying - but it helps).

Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the gym again. And maybe I'll even like it.