Aren't you though?
Howdy everyone! School's over and done with! And now it's summer! Life's in an interesting time for me right now. It's a mix between really happy moments, and really sad moments. In short, it's bittersweet. I'm so ready for the next four years, and the changes they'll bring. At the same time, I don't want to let go. I don't want to say goodbye to so many of my friends, change where I live, change so much about my life. It's exciting and scary all in one.
I'd been thinking about all this for quite a while. Now it's real. And as it's come, I've realized many things. The first is the above quote. I am soo lucky that it's hard for me to say goodbye. It reminds me of just how blessed I am. If any of my friends are reading this now, thank you for everything. Keep in touch!
Yeah, I'm going to miss a ton, but I know that with God at my side it'll all be ok.
Today sent me another reminder of things though. One of my friends sent me the story of Zach Sobiech today. If you haven't heard of him, you should look him up!! (Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjKgV65fpo) He was a young man with terminal cancer that just died on the 20th of this month. He didn't let that stop him from living though. He just kept on living, and kept on doing what he knew best: making others happy, right to the end. He reminded me of many things.
It's with that, that I begin today's topic. If I seem a bit scatterbrained, forgive me. I'm processing a lot for lack of a better word. :p
So.....
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Living
Funny right? I've done a post about letting go already (check it out here!) so that's not what this one is about. And no, this isn't about death either. Maybe I'll do that one someday. Not now. No, what that young man inspired me to write about was living, truly living.
I am dying right now. Now don't freak out guys, because guess what? You are too! Every second we live is a second closer to death as well. Everyone dies. It's a fact of life. And it's ok. Lion King, remember? Circle of life, etc. What matters is what we do with the time we have left. There's this poem I've heard a few times called "The Dash" by Linda Ellis (found here). Basically on your tombstone there's this dash between the dates of birth and death. That one small little line summarizes your entire life. Because the date you were born and the date that you died aren't really as important as what you did with the time in between, no matter how short or how long.
How much longer do you have? How much longer do I have? You know, neither one of us can know that. I might have 50 years or 50 seconds (though if I finish this post, it's probably not the second one!) So what does that mean? Well, there are only a few things left to do then. I could curl up into a ball and be constantly afraid of the end - not really my cup of tea. I could continue living life like I'm going to live forever - not ideal. Or I could live each and every day to the fullest. I'm feeling the third one. If I do that, then it doesn't matter which day is my last.
So here we are, at the crux of the issue: because we will die, we should live. I don't mean just watching life pass from the sidelines like some sort of Nick Carroway. I mean diving in, headfirst, even if the water feels like it's 20 degrees and it's winter. Because ultimately, it's what we are all called to do.
There are so many people in the world today who aren't living. Myself included sometimes. There are so many people who think they don't deserve to live. There are so many people who don't think they can. I was thinking about it the other day, when it hit me:
God created all of us for a reason. A task only we could do. We are all called to know, love, and serve Him. We are called to do that in different ways. The very fact that you and I are still here, are still breathing, are still talking, means that our job is not done. God says that we have more to do. He says, by our simply breathing, that we are SOO important that the world literally could not function without us. If it could, we wouldn't be here. We aren't done yet. And We are sooo important that without us His plan wouldn't go the same way. We are irreplaceable, and completely necessary. Just by still existing.
So you see, we are CALLED to live. Interesting huh?
Then what does it mean to live?
Anyone can survive. All that takes is breathing in and out. It's so easy that most of the time our bodies do it on autopilot. It's harder to live. Living takes action and movement and participation. Not just watching, but doing. Living means doing what you love. It means doing what you are called to do. It means doing what makes you happy. It means doing and being what God made you to be; what you were created for. It might not be what you think it will be, but if you watch, it'll be great.
Alright so how do you live? In short: serve. It doesn't have to be in the traditional way. Just do what you are meant to do to make the world a better place. That young man Zach? He was kind to everyone he met, always smiled, and left his music for people to share. It doesn't have to be big things. It just has to be you. It means you do the best you can each day because you don't know which one is your last. Yeah, some days you might mess up, but don't get bogged down by them. Just start over. Live each day being the best person you can be. That way if your last day does come suddenly, you won't regret time not spent. You won't regret not getting done everything that you could. You won't regret not serving others more. You won't regret not loving more. In short: you'll be ready.
Everybody dies. Not everybody lives. Live your life.
Matthew 6:43 says:
"Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."
Live today. That way if tomorrow doesn't come, you know that you gave it your best shot. Make your dash something beautiful.
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Today's song is "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot. It's all about living life, no matter the past, no matter the mistakes, no matter the future for that matter. It's where the title comes from today.
Move. Live. Love. Serve. Don't let your dash pass by in a blink.
Jeremiah 29:11 says:
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."
Listen to the plans, and live them. You're still breathing, so you're still called to live.
God loves you always.
Praying for you all!
Until next time,
~Wanted~
So here we are, at the crux of the issue: because we will die, we should live. I don't mean just watching life pass from the sidelines like some sort of Nick Carroway. I mean diving in, headfirst, even if the water feels like it's 20 degrees and it's winter. Because ultimately, it's what we are all called to do.
There are so many people in the world today who aren't living. Myself included sometimes. There are so many people who think they don't deserve to live. There are so many people who don't think they can. I was thinking about it the other day, when it hit me:
God created all of us for a reason. A task only we could do. We are all called to know, love, and serve Him. We are called to do that in different ways. The very fact that you and I are still here, are still breathing, are still talking, means that our job is not done. God says that we have more to do. He says, by our simply breathing, that we are SOO important that the world literally could not function without us. If it could, we wouldn't be here. We aren't done yet. And We are sooo important that without us His plan wouldn't go the same way. We are irreplaceable, and completely necessary. Just by still existing.
So you see, we are CALLED to live. Interesting huh?
Then what does it mean to live?
Anyone can survive. All that takes is breathing in and out. It's so easy that most of the time our bodies do it on autopilot. It's harder to live. Living takes action and movement and participation. Not just watching, but doing. Living means doing what you love. It means doing what you are called to do. It means doing what makes you happy. It means doing and being what God made you to be; what you were created for. It might not be what you think it will be, but if you watch, it'll be great.
Alright so how do you live? In short: serve. It doesn't have to be in the traditional way. Just do what you are meant to do to make the world a better place. That young man Zach? He was kind to everyone he met, always smiled, and left his music for people to share. It doesn't have to be big things. It just has to be you. It means you do the best you can each day because you don't know which one is your last. Yeah, some days you might mess up, but don't get bogged down by them. Just start over. Live each day being the best person you can be. That way if your last day does come suddenly, you won't regret time not spent. You won't regret not getting done everything that you could. You won't regret not serving others more. You won't regret not loving more. In short: you'll be ready.
Everybody dies. Not everybody lives. Live your life.
Matthew 6:43 says:
"Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."
Live today. That way if tomorrow doesn't come, you know that you gave it your best shot. Make your dash something beautiful.
--------------------------
Today's song is "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot. It's all about living life, no matter the past, no matter the mistakes, no matter the future for that matter. It's where the title comes from today.
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Jeremiah 29:11 says:
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."
Listen to the plans, and live them. You're still breathing, so you're still called to live.
God loves you always.
Praying for you all!
Until next time,
~Wanted~
"I am dying right now. Now don't freak out guys, because guess what? You are too! Every second we live is a second closer to death as well. Everyone dies."
ReplyDeleteGreat reminder. I think one of the best ways to put everything into perspective is to meditate on one's death bed--that is where we will see the true value in everything.