The First and the Last

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

What is the last thing you do before falling asleep at night?

All of us begin life as helpless infants, completely dependent on those who care for us.

It is how our lives end that really matters. Tremendous success at a given point in our life may define us, but is that enough to sustain us at the end? The people I admire most are those who end their lives at the highest point. I have always enjoyed the comparison of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the book of Genesis. Abraham died at an old age, having remarried following the death of his wife, Sarah. Isaac ended his life blind, after having been deceived into blessing the younger of his twin sons. But Jacob ended his life clearly blessing his grandsons, surrounded by his family, and was buried with his father and grandfather followed by a glorious procession. Before he died, he issued a marvelous prophecy, full of light and meaning regarding the future of his twelve sons.

As mentioned in a previous blog post, my grandfather went to be with the Lord in a way I feel is similar to that of Jacob.

I have much of my life to live, but I hope that each day, with what I do when I awake and what I do as I go to sleep, I would have the kind of life that ends as Jacob or Grandpa's did.