For Whom the Bell Tolls

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." (John Donne, 1624)

Death causes me to wax philosophical -- I take it very seriously. There has been a lot of death within my life's arena lately. The latest death was that of a baby. A couple from our church lost their baby girl just hours after her birth. Mom and I attended the funeral early Saturday morning. That was the first funeral I had ever been to for a child. It bears more sadness because one mourns the passing of an unfinished life. You wonder about all the possibilities that never came to her life -- a flash of only a few hours before leaving this earth behind.

Short though her life was, little Abigail had an impact that many never will have within the span of 80 years. Her parents' testimony through her birth and death touched the lives of many people. She was a precious treasure to them. Though she lay in the tiny pink coffin, she was resting in her heavenly Father's arms.

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so.
For, those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me;
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then, from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more. Death thou shalt die.

- John Donne

Am I effectively using the years that God has given me for His glory? What kind of legacy will I leave behind?