FAMILY FOUNDATIONS BUILD UPON THE BEDROCK OF FAITH

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. ~Bertrand Russell

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush



It's been an ironic paradox that the more I have been sought by my Friends, my clients, while continuing to maintain my Family balance and Faith as my core Principles, the less time I have devoted to writing. I jokingly remind myself that there will be time enough for writing when clients cease to engage me.

Reflecting back upon my last article nearly five months ago--and smiling at the mutually-profitable connections I have made with new Friends as a result--I find myself today once again applying those same timeless lessons to myself amidst a Family situation many of us have faced.

...Last evening, following a day focused upon a thoroughly-fulfilling Process Improvement engagement for a corporate client, I arrived home with just enough time to eat Supper and chat with my beautiful Bride before we were to depart for Mass. After Mass, I would have attended a Commission meeting before heading back home for the night.

God had a different plan for me and my Family the moment our six-year-old Daughter called us from upstairs following the sudden onset of a stomach bug. Details can be spared, but needless to say we embraced and comforted our tear-stricken Daughter, then set to sharing duties as my Bride attended to the bath and I to the carpet cleaning.

Without hesitation, I sent word soon after that I would not be in attendance at my meeting, and recognizing that the following day would not avail our daughter of school attendance, I cancelled my schedule for the following day to be exactly where I needed to be. My Bride made necessary phone calls to notify school, teacher, etc. of our Daughter's impending absence, and arranged to take the second day off if necessary.

Yes, we three were awakened several times throughout the overnight...changing bedding, washing up, comforting our Patient. Today I have laundered much bedding, bath linen, and clothing--not quite the project and meetings in which I had engaged the prior day. But today I have persevered and smiled as our Daughter, between uncharacteristic naps, has optimistically and whimsically declared war on the germs that have derailed her.

I am exactly where God, my Bride, and our Daughter need me to be today. We only have today, as there are no promises of tomorrow. In my business, I strive to always stay within the client's budget; to exceed expectations; to execute the deliverables ahead of schedule--BUT above all, I make no apologies for having built my Family's foundation upon the bedrock of our Faith. I am accountable to God today and at my final hour as I stand before Him at Judgment to faithfully recount my Stewardship of his Entrustment to me.

...Yes, I conduct my business with that very same level of Integrity. Tomorrow I will be serving my Friends again in one-on-one and group sessions to achieve their outcomes, but ever at my core will be my Principles of which I have been most fully reminded this day. Thank You, Lord, for a Life: Fully Lived!

TODAY'S QUESTION:  Do we recognize God's Will for us in Life's "interruptions" and "inconveniences"?

LIFE: Fully Lived

"LIFE: Fully Lived"

...that's how I want it to read when my name is being checked in St. Peter's book. I certainly will not know the day nor the hour, but I am confident that when my time comes, there will be an opportunity to review the impact that my life (in deeds and in words) had upon my family, my friends, and my community at large.

Wouldn't it have been a shame to show up to meet our Creator face-to-face on that glorious day, only to then have to admit to Him that I only used 25, 50, or 75% of my life's purpose? Hence, I'm aspiring to have that entry read as above: Fully Lived.

I believe that many of the other entries on my page in the book will be of lesser importance. I don't anticipate that our Creator is going to praise a workaholic attitude toward work...a perfectly tidy home...an enviably manicured lawn...a large retirement account...

No, I have a much simpler outlook on how that glorious dialogue will pan out. I believe that our Creator will look at my wife, my daughter, my parents, my neighbors, my community, my city as the living embodiments of areas in my life that I left an indelible impact. People -- not property, titles, bank accounts, plaques. In the hearts of those individuals with whom I came into contact, did I leave them better than I found them or did I serve my own ego by taking something away from those relationships without nurturing and growing those relationships?

Today's Question:

When YOU arrive at the threshold of death and see YOUR name in the book, what entry will YOU find beside the category of LIFE?