• Start Here
    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Blog
    • Prayer
    • Spiritual Disciplines
    • Trusting God
  • Prayer for the Week
  • Store
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Prayer and Possibilities | Prayer - Discipleship - Spiritual Disciplines - Discernment - Trusting God

Prayer & Possibilities

  • Deepen Your Prayers
  • Develop Your Faith
  • Step Into God’s Possibilities
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / What Words Define Your Life?

May 5, 2014 ·

What Words Define Your Life?

Uncategorized

Last weekend, I took a stroll with some of my dearest family members. We spent time together beneath the shade of hundred year old oak trees, soaking in the silence of a place filled with memories and love. The silence of a cemetery and the memories of all the loved ones gone before me.

Photo Credit: J u n g a via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: J u n g a via Compfight cc

I stopped at the cemetery to take Mom some flowers. It’s at once a place of sadness and great love. My mother’s family is just next to my father’s, so I can walk around and see all the relatives who have gone before me. I like to walk around and see each of them, taking a moment to remember each face and fill my heart with gratitude for all the love each embodied and what each meant to me.

As I came to the headstone of a cousin, I noticed the words “I Gave Of Myself” engraved beneath his name. Wow – what defining words to have on your tombstone! So, I walked around to see what other words had been used to define a life.

– Precious daughter
– Servant of God well done
– She was the sunshine of our home
– A faithful and loving daddy
– Beloved professor
– His men loved him
– A most kind and gentle soul
– Thy life was beauty, truth, goodness and love

What are the words that define your life? Mother, daughter, sister, aunt? Happy, cheerful, loving, welcoming? Teacher, volunteer, board member, doctor, accountant? Or, words like angry, victim, sick, unworthy, incapable?

Words are powerful. The words we use to define our lives – or the ones we hear the world use – are what we live into.

My mother defined her life with the words service, faith, mother, friend, leader. These said everything about her life. How dedicated she was to her family and friends. How much she loved and cherished being a mother. How service and leadership were woven into everything she did, from serving on nearly every board in town to teaching me about leadership and service. How her faith in God underpinned it all.

When she was battling breast cancer, she was determined not to allow words like victim, sick or weak define her life. She made a point to continue living her life as much as possible throughout all the treatments, the good times and the bad. Even when she finally had to step down from her official roles, she continued to mentor and counsel others. She wouldn’t allow anyone to view her as ‘sick’, but rather as a ‘strong fighter’.

What words define your life? What would be the inscription on your tombstone? Are you defining your life with words that describe your character or your situation?

The inscriptions I saw described character, the person God created them to be. They didn’t describe circumstances, but rather the character, the essence of the person. There is an action and impact in these defining words. Each of those people touched another life and impacted someone for the better. You see that in these final inscriptions.

Define your life by how you impact the world, not how the world impacts you.

So, what are your words? What are the words that will describe your impact in this world? Will you join with me and share your defining words? Let’s set our words before us and then live into them!

The words I want to live into are: “Faithful servant, loving mother”.

DefiningWords

 

Linking with Unforced Rhythms, UNITE, Recommendation Saturday

Other Posts You May Like

Previous Post: « Inviting Change Into Your Life
Next Post: 5 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From My Daughter »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth Hess says

    May 5, 2014 at 9:38 pm

    A beautiful reminder that we are better defined by our character than our circumstance. Words are so powerful, and these are blessed ones. Thank you.

  2. Laura Connell (@laurakimconnell) says

    May 6, 2014 at 8:22 am

    The words that define my life would be acceptance and humility and most of all redemption which is of the Lord.

  3. sarah riise says

    May 6, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Great job, Kathryn!! First time I’ve read one of your stories and this one was chosen by God for me to read!! I really needed this right now. I need to make sure my -dash- is filled with positive and not negative. Love you!!!

    • Kathryn says

      May 7, 2014 at 12:49 pm

      Sarah – I love this that spoke to you! Words are SO powerful and I truly believe we live into the labels we set. Praying for the right (positive) words to surface for you!

  4. kelliwoodford says

    May 7, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    I love the reverie of this post. It absolutely drips with nostalgia – especially with that gorgeous photo of the trees.

    Thank you for linking with Unforced Rhythms this week, friend.

  5. Kathryn says

    May 7, 2014 at 9:51 pm

    There’s something about spending time with the people I admire most to make me consider what made them so special. It wasn’t necessarily their circumstances, but the very essence of their character and how they showed love. Inspires me to focus on how I want to be remembered. Not just someone who works hard, but someone who loves and serves.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hi, I'm Kathryn! I'm glad you're here to journey with me! I'm just an ordinary girl following an extraordinary God, learning to seek God's possible in this world of impossible. Fueled by loads of coffee, I'm passionate about helping and encouraging you along this journey, too! Let's step forward together and learn practical ways to live into God's possible! Read More…

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible


BibleGateway.com

Footer

Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Start Here
  • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · beloved theme by Restored 316

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT