My counselor asked me in my last session if I could think of someone who had lived life well and with purpose. I can’t remember exactly why she asked me that, but I’m pretty sure we’d been talking about my focus word for 2012: healthy. My first response to her question was, No, not really. Now, of course, I know many people who have lived life well and with purpose, but at that moment, no one came to mind. She started talking again, and I interrupted her: Oh, wait a minute! I do know someone. His name was Aubrey Edwards. She asked me what it was about him that made me think of him. I responded that even when he was sick and in constant pain, he never complained. I never once heard him gossip. And he always, always had something kind to say about his lovely bride, Phyllis. He loved Jesus and people…and loved them well.

When I am old {although my children would say I’m old now}, I want to look back over my life from this point and say that I lived life well and with purpose. To me, that means loving Jesus and loving others. It means living in a state of grace…for others and for myself…understanding that God is continually refining and perfecting us. It means living in the wholeness of who God says I am. It means seeking and finding contentment {and dare I say…joy} in every circumstance.

When my session ended that day, my counselor asked me if she could speak blessings over me. I said yes, even though I was a little freaked at first. No one had ever asked to speak anything over me. It turned out that her speaking over me was really praying. She laid her hand upon my knee and prayed that I would live life well and with purpose. I can’t tell you how many times over the last few weeks that prayer has come to mind…because for maybe the first time in my life, I’m experiencing what it’s like to live life well and with purpose.