As strange as it may sound, I have often gone on a drive to think and ended up in front of my grandmother’s grave.

I make a lot of decisions in the cemetery. Nowhere else are the priorities of life as clear to me. A visit in the cemetery is the quickest way I know to shift my perspective from “here and now” to “there and forever.”

I walk past tombstones — billboards that silently and somberly remind me of the brevity of life — and challenge myself to make choices that will positively affect my life and the lives of those in my sphere of influence.

One day I will die and be merely a memory to those who knew me. Every decision I make affects that memory.

In the gospel of Mark is the story of a woman who broke a jar of very expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus’ head.

He defended her action and honored her sacrifice when He said, “I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Mark 14:9).

Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is recorded in the very next verse. Two very different stories placed right next to each other in the Bible serve as a warning for me.

The first is a story of great sacrifice, the second is one of greed and selfishness.

At the end of the day, and ultimately at the end of my life, the decisions I’ve made will determine how I am remembered.

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.