have i made a difference

As I approach the annual occasion of my human birth, my 56th,  I reflect on many things.  I see that, as the physical end draws more near than far, how many failures have occurred, how many disappointments, how many missed opportunities.  I use my family, friends and contemporaries as a measuring rule in some things, God's plan in others and my dreams and wishes for the last.  I review the joys, the successes, the good and the right.  In the end I ask myself this sobering question, "Have I made a difference in the lives of others and has that difference been a good thing?".