blink. wow, what happened to being 42?! remember how when you were young a year seemed to take forever to pass? these days it seems like i just blew the candles out on my last birthday cake, and another year has become history.

yesterday i attended a memorial service for a friend’s father who passed away much too young last week. i’m starting to really appreciate funeral services. no, not in a morbid way of course; it’s hard going to more and more funerals these days. but what’s good for the soul is hearing the story of a person’s life, condensed to a few short sentences. i always like to hear how the family chooses to summarize their loved one’s time on earth. the words read for my friend’s dad were simple and even amusing at times. but you could tell in the simplicity he loved his family and impacted the way his kids grew up and even how they are as individuals today. beautiful. no real need for a long list of accomplishments, letters behind a name, or even how financially successful or not he became. i had only met my friend’s dad a couple of times, but i now know that he lived and loved. and that’s pretty cool.

growing older i think many people find themselves less patient about things. well, people, really. ok, maybe things too, sometimes. like wifi or unimportant stuff like that. but i’m noticing that can have it’s occasional pluses, too. i know, we’re supposed to be trying to be as patient as we can in life; not a bad practice. but what i mean is it’s helped me try to move past the small stuff, which seems to be increasing in number as life gets more complicated and demanding. i think of people i know who are seemingly angry about whatever they can be angry about, and i’m reminded that life is short, why waste so much time and energy on stuff like that? there’s so much more to live for instead, like improving how well you love those you need to love, appreciating everything you have been blessed with, living with eternity in mind and not just collecting for the present. and even forgiving and understanding that at the end of the day it’s really God’s grace that got you this far anyway! i’m so thankful for God’s grace.

anyway, all this typing has made me tired. this old man needs to go and rest. i think i’ll just watch boo sing me happy birthday the rest of today. that kinda stuff makes me happy.

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