Last Words Matter ...

My wife reminded me this morning of Lewis Smedes' spiritual memoir, My God and I, which turned out to be the last words he wrote before his sudden and untimely death more than a decade ago.
       His words so captivated my heart and soul when I read them many years ago, and they did so again this morning. Lew was a spiritual giant.

"This is where I find myself now on the journey that God and I have been on, at the station called hope, the one that comes right after gratitude and somewhere not far from journey's end. It has been 'God and I' the whole way. Not so much because he has always been pleasant company. Not because I could always feel his presence when I got up in the morning or when I was afraid to sleep at night. It was because he did not trust me to travel alone. Personally I like the last miles of the journey better than the first. But, since I could not have the ending without first having the beginning, I thank God for getting me going and bringing me home. And sticking with me all the way."