Early Eulogy

One of the most profoundly meaningful things I have done is record a special message to my wife just after we drew up our will and just before I traveled to Africa on a dangerous mission trip, for which I could not get anyone to underwrite a life insurance policy. While I fully trusted God for safety, suffice it to say that being faced with the prospect of death causes you to reflect upon the meaning of your life and the value of the ones you love.

It was not until afterward that I discovered an apt description of what it was that I had created. I later heard of such a note referred to as an “early eulogy” and I thought that fit. An early eulogy is simply communicating to another now, before one of you dies, what you think of them, how much you love them, how much they mean to you and others, and the like. To this day, my wife enjoys listening to the recording when I periodically travel overnight, as it reminds her of my love for her and how very much she means to me.

Just as it is wiser to give flowers to the living rather than the dead, I propose showering the ones we love with words of affirmation while they can yet hear them and be buoyed by the life they bring. For it is not the unspoken word, however thoughtful, that blesses, but the heartfelt sharing of one’s deepest and truest feelings that possesses the power to lift another soul and place them on an uncommon level, where they may rest in our love.