A life well lived

I attended the funeral yesterday of a remarkable lady called Barbara. It was the most inspirational thanksgiving service I have ever been at. Hers was a life well lived.

Funerals often cause us to reflect, don't they, on our own lives, and on what things are truly significant. Yesterday did that for me.

I got to know Barbara over the last 15 years through a prayer group which I'm part of. Before I ever met her she was one of the people we prayed for regularly in her work in the Middle East. I learnt at the funeral that she was 69 years old. I never could have guessed this - she was youthful, slim, astute and loved the outdoors. She was gentle, wise, strong, capable, a strategic leader, deeply rooted in her love for Jesus.

She originally trained as a nurse and then a midwife, and in her late 20's moved to Pakistan. She worked there for 15 years, running health care programmes in different locations. This can not have been an easy task for a single girl in such a male-dominated culture and I always felt huge admiration and respect for Barbara for this. She learned to speak fluent Urdu. She was loved and respected by the people and formed bonds that were to last a lifetime  - two of her close Pakistani friends came to Northern Ireland to spend a month with her this Autumn while she was dying of cancer.  After her time in Pakistan she relocated to Cyprus where she became area leader of her organisation, responsible for personnel and strategic planning in North Africa and the Middle East. Eight or so years later she returned to NI due to family needs, updated her nursing qualification, went back to work while continuing to have a key role within her organisation, to the very end.

I was struck yesterday by the fact that even though I knew Barbara I didn't know anything about some of her achievements or how she impacted people around the world. Like flowers growing in the remote beautiful mountains of Pakistan, Barbara blossomed and spread beauty in places where most people will never tread. In obscurity, if you like.

We live in an age where we like to (and are able to) publicize our actions, achievements and opinions on any platform we can. Sometimes the affirmation/feedback we receive from this is what defines our sense of significance and worth.  Yet, my greatest heroes are people (of whom I'm privileged to know a few) who don't seek the limelight but who spend their lives loving and serving others, at great cost to themselves and with little public recognition and with no online presence or promotion. Barbara was one of those people. I do believe some stories need to be told (hence I'm writing this blog). But the example of Barbara's life is also challenging me to take risks, to work faithfully on the things God has called me to do, to invest in the people he has given me, with everything l've got but without seeking recognition. That to me, after all is said and done, would be a life well lived.