What does my life reflect? What does YOUR life reflect?

We did another funeral last week - the day before Jessica's. This one was for Kathleen. When Kathleen's daughter stood up, I remembered a young woman who came to our feeding program wearing a shirt that could easily have been sold in Victoria's Secret, if it weren't for the ripped seams that came with use. Being the resident queen matron, I was approached by several people to go talk to her about the appropriate dress code (sigh. . .). It was awkward but I did and I made an extra effort to invite her to several young adult events that were coming up. Over the next few months, Erin came to church and never really did fit in, clothing wise - but she was loved and accepted by those who came to the N.A. groups and the young adult groups. She wasn't getting along with her mom at all because her mom was still using . . .so finally she moved away across the state.

Kathleen (her mom) was a bellringer - and struggled with alcohol and drugs for most of her life. The last year of her life, however, was spent in treatment and sober living. She reunited with Erin over the phone just a week before she died. She had been going to a local church for a year or two before she went to treatment so I felt good knowing that JEsus had been an important part of her life.

Hearing people talk about her life reminded me that we have lives that people don't know about. My kids don't know about my life before them - and I don't know about my mom's life before me. I wonder what stories people will tell about me - what will they say? Will my life reflect Jesus? I hope so.