I attempted to write a post last week about what I witnessed while I was on our Family Church beach trip but I never could gather my thoughts. I am not referring to an incident but what I saw in people. One person in particular. I have never witnessed anything like I did last week. I am going to be vague but try my best to put into words what I saw or more so what I learned without intruding on any families. At some point hopefully, with their permission, I can write in greater detail.
Life. Webster defines life as: a. the period of time when a person is alive b. the experience of being alive. Period of time. Time. What do you do with your time? Do the things you do matter? More importantly, do the things you do matter for eternity? We are all guilty of wasting time. We are given a short amount of time here on Earth and we waste it. We take it for granted. We are foolish with it. We complain about such petty things. I am guilty of this too often. We have got to wake up and realize that our time is precious. It is valuable. There is nothing in this world that can compare to time. You can't buy more of it. You can't exchange it. You can't get it back. You can't add to it. It is what it is. Time.
Webster's definition says that it's a period of time when a person is alive. Which means time here on Earth. While we are living and breathing, we are given this precious gift of time. It is a gift that is often overlooked. I watch how quickly certain things take over our lives. I look around and see baseball/softball is a 24/7 sport now, 365 days out of the year. A computer is at our fingertips that allows us to waste time on social media, games, text, etc. Church has become an option. No one eats at the dinner table anymore. We put more emphasis on so much that just doesn't matter. I am not pointing fingers at anyone because well, I'm posting this to social media. But it is the amount of time we spend on such things that just don't matter. Life growing up was nothing like it is now for my son. Times have changed and we have allowed it to change us or should I say most of us.
How do we react when we run our truck into a trailer? I use this example because it just happen to me last week. Typically, I would be a "tad" bit upset. Actually, I would have let it ruin my trip. But this past week, I told myself it would be a reminder of our church beach trip. It will remind me of the time I got to spend with my little boy at the beach making memories. Getting upset over a dent or two in my new truck just doesn't matter. I shattered my phone earlier this week and didn't get upset for one second. Life has been put into perspective yet once again. What is my life screaming to others? Where is my focus when it comes to my child? Does he know just how much I love him? What am I teaching him that will get him through life's ups and downs? Will he have deep roots in his faith? Will he be grounded? What does he see when he watches me live my life? But then I ask myself the same thing. Do I have deep roots? Where would I turn if life threw me another curve ball? I have questioned so much over the past week. I have been left speechless. I have been in awe. I have seen strength in others lives that overwhelms me. I have seen life lived.
Which leads us to Webster's second definition of life. The experience of being alive. Think on that for a minute or two. The experience of being alive. Have you truly experienced life or are you just going through the motions? Are you so wrapped up in things of this world that if your world was turned upside down, you would not know where to turn? You would fall flat on your face. You would simply go through the motions as time ticked away. If we all had an hour glass of our lives, I'm sure we would do life so differently. But we do not. Life is precious. I know many reading this know just how much can change in the blink of an eye. I have been so inspired by so many around me. I have stepped back and evaluated my life and hope that you will do the same. Find where your focus is at this moment? Do your "problems" really matter? That person you may be arguing with at the moment, does it really matter? This is our temporary home. We are just passing through, but as you pass, make it count.
Watch those around you as they experience life's storms. What can you learn from them? And then ask yourself the question, "What would someone learn from me?" I know that I have been challenged to step back and evaluate my life. To take deeper roots and to "engage" more with others. I would rather do life "better together" than do life good, alone.
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