Life is made up of seasons. One season followed by another, followed by another...As you string them all together they make up a life. 

As I write this post we are heading into a new season. Vacations are over, kids are back in school, summer is winding down, and fall is just around the corner. 

I’m heading into a new season of life as well. It’s a season that represents what I’ve decided to do with the rest of my life to.   

My new website reflects exactly what I plan on doing with the rest of my life and exactly how I plan on doing it.    

So if you would, give it a quick review here - www.kenlroberts.com

Love to hear from you.

Ken L Roberts
Speaker//Author//Coach//Online Trainer

When evangelist Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham, died in 2007, she chose to have engraved on her gravestone words that had nothing to do with her remarkable achievements.

She tells the story that she had been driving one day along a highway through a construction site, and there were miles of detours and cautionary signs and machinery and equipment. She finally came to this last one, and this final sign read, “End of construction. Thank you for your patience.” *

And that’s what Ruth Bell Graham chose to have written on her gravestone:

“End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.”

Leonard Ravenhill, a well-known revivalist of the last century, had these words written on his gravestone:

“Are the things you are living for,
Worth the things Christ died for?”

John Maxwell wants these words written on his gravestone:

“Here lies a man who lived with purpose and intentionality.”

Jehoram (a king in the Old Testament)  had these words left by others on his gravestone:

“He passed away to no one’s regret.”

The words on my late wife’s gravestone are:

“In Christ, With Christ.”

The words I want on my gravestone are:

“He died leaning forward.”

How about you?  What will yours be?

“________________________”

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

“The Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next…It is in since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.”

So when you come to the end of your life, what do you want people to say about you? What words do you want written on your gravestone?

It’s an honest, probing, important question.

Sincerely submitted,
Ken L Roberts

Please leave a comment: If you have an idea of what you want written on your gravestone—I’d love to hear it. Leave a comment in the section below. Thanks!

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*Material from John Ortberg’s book, Soul Keeping, p 151

Photo of Ruth Bell Graham used under fair use.
“Gravestone of Ruth Bell Graham” by Billy Hathorn licensed under CC BY 3.0.

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Fifteen years ago my late wife was killed in a car accident.

It was on a Tuesday.

Earlier that morning, we had exchanged our “I love yous,” said our goodbyes, and headed out in opposite directions. I drove to the health club, and she headed to a women’s Bible study.

I had finished my workout and was on my way home when my cell phone rang. On the other end of the line my daughter informed me that the nearby hospital had called and was trying to reach me. She said Mom had been in a car accident…. That’s all we knew.

I hurried home, picked up my son and rushed to the emergency room. When we arrived, it was clear that the situation was grave. My wife had been hit on the driver’s side of her car by a large sports utility vehicle. She had been resuscitated at the scene and was now lying unconscious in front of me.

I struggled to believe it.

Tuesday, March 9, 2004, had started out like any other day, but without warning, this journey called life had taken a sharp, unexpected turn, and for me—life would never be the same.

Three days later, my precious wife of twenty-five years, mother of our two wonderful kids and a friend to so many, was pronounced dead. She was only forty-seven.

As I reflect on the past ten years since her passing, here are a few important lessons I’ve learned:

• Life goes on; it stops for no one or no thing

• Life is a gift but it’s also fragile, so cherish it every day

• Adversity is indiscriminate; live long enough and we all face them

• No matter how dark the night may get, the sun will come up in the morning

• God will use all things (if we allow Him) to shape us more and more into the image of His son

• A life of depth and substance is most often and most deeply shaped in the desert

• If you keep walking, you will eventually get to the top of the next mountain

• Death is cruel but it isn’t final

• God can be trusted; He really can!

• Heaven is closer than we think and when we get there it’s going to be very, very sweet

None of us know what tomorrow holds. So let’s make every effort of every day to build a life that counts and leave a legacy that matters.

My late wife did. I hope to do the same. I trust you will as well.

Sincerely Submitted
Ken L Roberts