pearls from the joe

Today I went to the funeral of my my husband's colleague. I love funerals, there are always so many life lessons taught through the example of the deceased. Joe's son-in-law shared how he really watched Joe, just to see if Joe was always "that good." Joe and his son-in-law spoke of it once and Joe responded "it's hard isn't it."

I loved that simple statement from a good man. I think sometimes we assume that those who are good are good because it's easy for them to be good. Those who are happy are happy because it is easy for them to be happy. I believe that Joe's response represents the truth. People who are good, people who are happy choose to be. They work at it, even though it's hard.

Joe recently shared with one of his son's that "you can measure your commitment to the Lord by how you treat others." I think that's a profound pearl of wisdom. Evident by the number of people in attendance at the funeral and my own husband's personal experiences with Joe, he practiced what he preached. Joe recognized that everyone is a child of God and treated them as such.

I don't know Joe, never even met him, but I'm grateful for the lessons I learned from his exemplary life.