Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a friend and coworker. He fought a battle with cancer for a lot longer than most people knew. I can’t imagine carrying that weight all by myself, without much complaint. But, he did. In the last waning days of his life, he lived it to the max. He knew the clock was ticking and the ticks were coming faster than the pauses in between.
I visited him in the hospital several times but each time, I saw a stoic man who was looking forward to getting out and doing things that he loved. Each hospital visit, he looked a little weaker, a little more pale. But what I noticed was that he didn’t lose his zeal for life, whatever his lot. As the old hymnal sings, it was well with his soul.
It’s hard for most of us to let that ring true. We fight the present condition in hopes that the future will be better. The future isn’t always better. Sometimes it brings us to the bridge between the here and the supernatural. The present is where we live. And, my friend—he lived.
With friends by his side, he had nights by the bonfire, cooking dinners with his griddle, taking pictures with his friends and family, and doing just what he wanted to do. Yes, cancer limited that to some extent but he lived.
Sometimes I find myself postponing my happiness until better days arrive. There is no guarantee of better days. What if these are the better days? What if postponing my joy means that I am robbing myself of the gift God has given me in the here and now? If you read my blog often, you know my mama always tells me, “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Ah, now there’s the truth. Even if we don’t think we have been given much or have much to give, God expects us not just to live this life in mediocrity but to thrive in joy, whatever our circumstances. He wants us to trust that whatever happens, we are living our testimony for His glory, not our own. And we can’t do that if our focus is somewhere in the past or the future. The past can’t be changed and the future isn’t entirely up to us. The present is where we must live, and sow the seeds for the future harvest.
By science and medical terms, my friend probably should have been gone. He was so sick. Yet his frame of mind framed his life. He didn’t wallow in the diagnosis. Instead, he lived a life full and in his last request, he wanted more people to know the Jesus that made his heart complete.
Hurry up and live. If you have been putting off living because of work, because the kids are small, because you don’t have enough money, or whatever lame excuse, it needs to stop today. Put your trust in the God that has chosen you. Step out on faith and be true to what God has called you to be. There may not be a tomorrow or a better time to do the things that make you happy. Put the logs in the fire pit and blankets on the ground. Grab the one that you love and sit by the fire, in the quiet. Take that trip to the place you’ve been dreaming of going. Go see how big the world truly is and soak it up. Tell the people that you love that you love them. Love is a verb so it can’t just be with words. Show them in actions and in words how much they mean to you. Build, or rebuild, that relationship with God. Accept that He sent his only son to die on a cross so many years ago for you and me, and those yet to come. He did that so that we could live (and love) more abundantly.
Life is too precious and short not to live it to the fullest. Hurry up and live. Don’t wait for something life altering to shake your foundation. Don’t wait for your last day on earth to live with regrets. Hurry up and live today. Let your light shine for all to see. Let it brighten the darkness and carry over into the crevices. Hurry up. And live.
Messpot Diaries 