This morning I attended a memorial service for a dear man and a dear friend. The circumstances of his passing were both tragic and sudden. But the reality of his life was that he created beauty in the lives of everyone he touched. And the memory of that beauty is firmly fixed in the hearts and memories of everyone that knew him.

Jim was motivated by his mission to make the world a better place for everyone. His life and his work set a bar that we should all strive to reach. Because there can be no greater mission for us in life. And as the sadness over his loss fades, it will be replaced by an overwhelming sense that his life on earth mattered.

For me, the message in Jim’s life and in his passing is this:

We should do all that we can to live lives that matter.  

For Jim, this meant using his unique talents and gifts to do the work he felt called to do in the world. And like Jim, we are all endowed with unique talents and gifts. And our mission on earth should be to discover, develop and use them to create beauty in the world. To live lives that matter. 

As I left the church this afternoon, I saw the faces of so many people who loved Jim. So many lives touched and made better because he was here. 

That’s the beauty of a well-lived life.

It lives on.

Thank you, Jim.