Corner Posts of Life
I sat motionless, listening to one of my father’s lifelong friends describe him as a corner post in the fence line of life. Tears gathered in my eyes (a bittersweet combo of mourning, gratitude, and joy), as I heard the essence of my dad summed up in this gracious and accurate metaphor. Words like stability, strength, foundation, anchor, balance, and support were used.
If you’ve spent any time in the country or around farmland, you will immediately understand. I’m half city, half farm/nature girl, and knew about the barbed wire fences I watched my dad build over many weekends through the years.
I must confess, I didn’t do well in physics class in school and have no clue about things like engineering. Before his funeral service, I really had no understanding of the value of a corner post along the fence line. Hearing this gave me a new appreciation for all of the post holes I watched him manually dig and the fences I saw him build, and the comparison to these actions, results, and how he lived his overall life.
All of us are flawed human beings and we will never live a life of perfection, but we can strive for excellence, flourishing, and leaving a mark of stability, support, love, and grace in this world.
I recorded this week’s episode after many months of mulling it over. Observing behaviors of all kinds, reading words, seeing social media posts, hearing conversations, and knowing thoughts that went through my own head layered a desire to offer encouragement and tangible action for myself and others who might want to join in. All the issues of 2020, and now into 2021, feel overwhelming to each one of us in different ways.
My hope lies in the open conversation and commitment we can make to positively influence our corners of the world – together, renewing desire and effort to stand as corner posts in the social fence line of life.
Join us on The Bearing Life® Podcast this week to talk about helpful ways to do our part to heal division and act as peacemakers and unifiers. Thanks for listening, sharing, and for your encouragement!