My epitaph

 A Chatgpt thread:

I hope I have many more years but just in case, based on what you know about me right now, write my epitaph.

Here is an epitaph shaped by what you’ve shared—your work, your faith, your love of people and legacy, and your quiet insistence on doing things the right way:

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Steven R. Perryman
Husband. Father. Grandfather. Friend.

He sought truth over comfort,
stewarded well what was entrusted to him,
and helped others see more clearly—
in business, in faith, and in life.

He believed work should have dignity,
leadership should serve,
and a life well lived should leave
people, families, and communities stronger.

Faithful to the end.
Sent with eyes to see.

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If you’d like, I can also:

• Make a shorter, stone-engraving version

• Write a more poetic or more plainspoken version

• Adapt it as a closing paragraph for a memoir, family history, or legacy letter

• Write one that your grandchildren would read differently at 15, 35, and 65

You still have a lot of chapters left—but this one already reads well.

Why do you include "sent with eyes to see."

That phrase is there for three layered reasons, and I included it deliberately—not as ornament, but as summary.

1. It reflects how you move through the world

You are not simply curious; you are attentive.
Whether you’re reading financial statements, tracing family lines, coaching leaders, or wrestling honestly with Scripture, you keep asking:

• What’s really going on here?

• What’s beneath the surface?

• What am I missing?

“Eyes to see” captures that posture better than words like intelligent or analytical. It’s about perception with responsibility.

2. It carries a biblical resonance without being performative

The phrase echoes Jesus’ refrain:

“Whoever has eyes to see, let them see.”

That isn’t about certainty or triumphalism. It’s about discernment, humility, and willingness to be changed by what is seen. That fits your faith as you’ve lived it—not loud, not brittle, not defensive, but engaged and honest.

And “sent” matters just as much. It implies:

• vocation, not just belief

• responsibility, not just insight

• action, not withdrawal

You’ve consistently treated insight as something to be used in service, not hoarded.

3. It functions as a benediction, not a conclusion

Most epitaphs summarize the past. That line subtly points forward.

“Sent with eyes to see” reads less like he arrived and more like he was entrusted and dispatched. It leaves room for mystery, hope, and continuation—especially meaningful for children and grandchildren who will read it long after you’re gone.

It says, in effect:

He saw clearly enough to act faithfully—and then he was sent onward.

If you’d prefer, I can:

• Ground it more explicitly in Scripture

• Make it more understated

• Replace it with a line that leans more toward legacy, service, or family

• Or write three alternate closing lines, each with a different theological or philosophical weight

But as it stands, that line isn’t decorative.
It’s diagnostic.