A good story isn’t just about the hero. It’s about the people the hero loves, the people dependent on the hero, the victim the hero is going to rescue. Stories may be told through the lens of the hero, but they are always about what is happening to a community of people.*
Donald Miller

May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.**

Coinciding with the funeral service of Queen Elizabeth taking place today
has been my reading of Donald Miller’s suggestion that we prepare our own eulogies –
To help us connect daily with what is most important to us.

In a good story,
Miller writes,
There has to be a ticking clock;
Something has to happen to someone
by a certain time.

Death is our ticking clock.
Not something to be feared, but
our servant towards living
a meaningful life,
Even life-in-all-its-fullness.

Over the past days
I have listened to many poignant eulogies to the Queen,
Some no longer than a sentence,
Each very special.
Admittedly, after leading many funeral services over
forty years,
I can find myself wondering who may come to mine,
And what will they say.
I’m not being morbid,
Rather I am trying to be more focused about how to live the
remainder of my days.

However much longer we have,
Using our eulogy at the beginning of each day
In some way, shape or form,
Will keep us connected to what we want our lives to be filled with,
Which, as Miller suggests,
Will include others whose lives we want to fill with good things, too.

*Donald Miller’s Hero On a Mission;
**Psalm 72:6-7 – a psalm for the king.