I was glued to the television recently, as I watched our great country say goodbye to our 41st president, George H.W. Bush. There were so many nice things said about him and I learned so much from all of those who memorialized him over an entire week of mourning that was held in his honor.

I was moved to tears and enjoyed several moments of laughter, but most of all, I was spurred on and encouraged by the life lived by this 94-year-old World War II veteran.

I’ll admit, when President Bush was elected to office in 1988, I cared as much about politics as I did about what kind of spark plugs went into my 1978 Oldsmobile. As long as it worked, I just didn’t care.

With age comes responsibility and the realization of just how important it is to pay attention and to participate in the political world. And this past month, I found out what a gem we had in our 41st President.

I’m struck most by his fullness of life. It was apparent he didn’t let any grass grow under his feet. He was ambitious and, like his son George W. said, he went quickly through his golf game so he could get on to the next event.

This is someone who gets up early in the morning because he doesn’t want to miss anything. This is the little boy who doesn’t want to take a nap or go to school because something might happen on the farm while he’s sleeping or away. He was the kind of person who experienced so much and, with that, he touched many lives.

I was also impressed by the letters he was known to write. Even in his 94th year, he wrote a lovely letter to Vice President Pence in honor of Pence’s son. In this age where we spend most of our time tapping on a device instead of holding a pencil and many schoolchildren are not even learning cursive handwriting, the written word is even more valuable.

The uniqueness of someone’s handwriting, the time it takes to put pen to paper and the scribbling-out of a mistake – they are all something our digital world cannot capture. But a handwritten letter on stationery or a piece of lined paper is something we can hold in our hands or tuck away in our Bible or put in a scrapbook.

I have a file full of handwritten letters from folks who have responded to something I’ve written here. I cherish them and, every once in a while, I read back through them to remind myself of what’s important in life.

We can be encouraged by a life well-lived. While we like to make giants out of people after they have passed, we know no one is perfect and I’m sure the memories held by the members of the Bush family are not all happy. President Bush had many failures, but he didn’t live his life by them.

He experienced victory and defeat, and a heart full of love that was broken a time or two. Today we can envision his reunion with the love of his life and a daughter he will never lose again, only because of his faith in Jesus.

A life well-lived, a faith well-tended and a promise kept yield a heaven where ceiling and visibility are unlimited.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.