Life can sometimes be a little circular. Today two of my friends welcomed their first baby into the world. Sunday, another friend buried his grandfather. In many ways, a life is beautiful at both the beginning and the end. At this memorial service on Sunday, it was very non-traditional. Family members and friends came up and said nice things and in the end the entire audience sang lots of songs. It was beautiful, because there was no priest or pastor trying to turn a eulogy about someone they hardly knew into a sermon. It was simply friends and family sharing something about a man they loved.

I could hope to be so lucky. There were not enough chairs and all total, people kept streaming up to the podium for over an hour to say their piece. That is the truest sign of a life lived well. So tonight when I go to the hospital and meet little Jonah for the first time my most sincere hope for him is that he will live a rewarding life and in the course of that life he’ll touch many other lives. When his journey is over he’ll have people lined up around the block to say nice things about him and there will not be nearly enough chairs to seat those who came to pay their respects.