I have found . . . that thinking about the end of my life makes me want to use the time I have left to the fullest. That it makes me think of heaven and what it must be like, of my purpose here on earth. That it reminds me of those I have loved who have gone before me, and of the great blessing they were in my life, greater blessings than I ever realized while they still lived. Thinking of death helps me value life. And it helps me not to be afraid.

— Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, Let Us Bless the Lord, Year One