There's some people in your life that have an impact on you that doesn't fully hit until years later, and you find yourself sitting awake in the middle of the night with an unintended mixture of emotions as if all the crayons in your crayon box have been mixed into one giant crayon - and it produces a single messy color that you're just not quite sure how to react to.
In 9th grade I had a science teacher who changed my life more than any other person I have met. He was a man of purpose and quick to shine love into the lives of the numerous students that walked in and out of his door each day. He was unashamed and steadfast in his dedication to love, and would have put his life on the line for any one of his students. Unexpectedly, however, a terminal disease abruptly took his life one day and I found myself suddenly digesting the weight of the situation. Three years later, and I'm still digging through the impact he buried into each one of us. I guess that's what happens when you target someone's heart each and every day; when your message finally sticks, it sticks deep.
I have a sticker on the back of my computer that simply states: walk in love. Every day when I open and close my screen, I look at those three words and push myself to follow in Mr. Way's footsteps, to walk in pure and sincere love for all those we interact with each day. I wish I had a fraction of the courage to stand up for love in the way Mr. Way did. It's only now that I'm beginning to realize how truly beautiful his purpose was in and for all of our lives.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing in the past few weeks trying to really sum up my life's purpose and what I feel called to in the future. Many of my unpublished blog posts include lists of semi-random words thrown together to attempt to define that purpose. But tonight, as I was reading through a past letter from Mr. Way, that purpose jumped out at me from off the page. All I can do is add three simple words to the end of it...
~ live a life full of joy
~ live a life full of love
~ live a life full of hope
~ live a life full of inner and outer peace
~ live a life of character and integrity
~ live a life that is a strong, positive example for others
~ live a life that makes a difference to others
~ live a life full of love
~ live a life full of hope
~ live a life full of inner and outer peace
~ live a life of character and integrity
~ live a life that is a strong, positive example for others
~ live a life that makes a difference to others
~ walk in love
This song is for you Mr. Way, I miss you and can't wait until the day I see you again...
This song is for you Mr. Way, I miss you and can't wait until the day I see you again...
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