I woke up yesterday and a biblical quote came to me "...sadness and pain in the night but joy comes in the morning". We grieve in different ways; the person to whom we grieve for does significantly influence how we grieve and its duration. My youngest daughter said ‘Dad this means neither Nanna or Grandma will be there to watch me walk down the aisle on my wedding day’. Our daughters want us to guarantee them that neither of us will pass away!

Losing a dear older person is far easier to bear than the loss of someone young (When I was young within one year, I lost a brother and close friend). Even my saddest days and most painful experiences are nothing compared to what tens of millions of people around our globe have to confront today, or worse, will have to confront their whole life through no fault of their own. That gives me perspective.

So just as I left for work yesterday I posted these words, meaning that it is up to me to make each day as beautiful as possible: Grieve I will, but I will not forget that there are people within my sphere of influence who are suffering much more. And maybe through my words and actions I might somehow make their day a little brighter.

A dear elderly family member is critically ill and dying in hospital. This has caused me to ask this question: What legacy does she leave behind? The answer is that she is leaving a legacy of a life devoted to her husband and extended family; she is the loved matriarch of the family. She will be sorely missed. But she is at peace knowing she has had a wonderful life and wants to have that ‘big sleep’ so that she can be with her husband who died some years ago.  For many younger people life is about living for just the moment, but is that all life is?

For me, I want to give my children the legacy of a role-model father and husband: a man who, although he stumbled many times and made many mistakes, never gave in when he ‘dropped’ the ball, but picked himself up and kept going striving to be the best he could for his family. I want them to be encouraged by my life so that they themselves can live and lead even better and that passes to their children.