Saying Goodbye To A Godly Man

On Saturday, August the 20th, my family attended the memorial service for my great uncle, Lewis Edward Andrew. The service was absolutely beautiful, an incredible tribute for an incredible man. My Grandfather, James West, officiated the service and shared many stories of both a serious and humorous nature from his memories of Uncle Lewis.

During the ceremony, one of my distant cousins, Issac Holton, recited a poem by Edgar Albert Guest titled, My Creed.  After hearing this poem, I could only imagine what my own funeral will be like.
Will my friends and family be able to remember me in such a fond way? Will I leave a life worth remembering?
Guest's The Creed reads like this:

To live as gently as I can;
To be, no matter where, a man;
To take what comes of good or ill
And cling to faith and honor still;
To do my best, and let that stand
The record of my brain and hand;
And then, should failure come to me,
Still work and hope for victory.

To have no secret place wherein
I stoop unseen to shame or sin;
To be the same when I'm alone
As when my every deed is known;
To live undaunted, unafraid
Of any step that I have made;
To be without pretense or sham
Exactly what men think I am.

To leave some simple mark behind
To keep my having lived in mind;
If enmity to aught I show,
To be an honest, generous foe,
To play my little part, nor whine
That greater honors are not mine.
This, I believe, is all I need
For my philosophy and creed.

By Edgar Albert Guest, © 1915, All rights reserved.

In many ways this poem encapsulates the life of my Uncle Lewis. However, could it also describe my life? To me this poem is speaking to each of us through Guest's self-examination. Do we cling to faith and honor through the 'storms' of life? Are we determined enough to 'still work and hope for victory' when failures come? Are we the same alone as we are amongst friends?
Are we willing to commit to live as Guest's Creed suggests?

I pray that my life will leave a legacy worth remembering. I hope that every individual I come in contact with will experience the love of God through me! That I will be the same person alone and among my friends and peers. I desire for Guest's The Creed to be my life's legacy.