Life is too short...
..not to love.
...not to doodle.
...not to play.
...not to read.
...not to pour/serve/give.
...not to fish.
What imagery/thoughts/phrases/emotions do you find when you think about that list?
Someone else who was at the meeting explain this series for those who couldnt be there...
4 comments:
Life is way too short to not do all of these things, however, how do we as eternal beings put this into perspective? How do we balance all of this? Have we structured and scheduled our lives so specifically that we haven't left room for those Divine encounters with others and with God?.... And there's always the question of, when we are dying, will we wish we would have spent more time at work, at the grocery store, at meetings, etc, or will we wish we spent more time with those we love and with those God loves and with whom He has called us to share His love?
Ok. So to me, its like we get to points in the year and there is a moment to look back, when MD gets here, we can look back and think... What did I do with my year that counted? In each of those topics, there is a spiritual implication of missing out, as well as a physical/mental implication... Each of these can also have huge tie-ins to our values, without being a "values series"
Love - obvious spiritual implications- thats what was modeled for us... Love your God, love your neighbor... Love your mom. Life is too short not to love. "AI/LT"
Doodle - deals with creativity and creating... Too me this is very hard, because it takes intention... God created, and sometimes we are closest to his heart when we create "CE"
Play - Kevin Carroll Red Rubber Ball kind of thinking... how do we get in touch with our inner kid? We do a lot to get the kid out of us and be "responsible", but Jesus commended the kids, and our approach to Him should be with the faith and love of a kid... Also playing with kids and showing them what a follower of Christ looks like "GI"
Read - obviously reading the Bible is most important- but reading other works of fiction and non-fiction are healthy and balancing instead of just watching tv all the time... As Jim asked -are we reading the most printed book ever? "BT"
Pour - serving others, doing something for someone other than ourselves... No need to tie in the spritiual here "SL"
Fish - wow. Easy tie in to evangelism and being "fishers of men"... But also the moments of silence, the separation from our everyday "gone fishin" and the meditative qualities here... Great Fathers Day moment... "IP"
All of these are not just for us either, each of these has implications to others in our lives... Especially when we do these with/for our kids...
Those are my thoughts.
In case anyone gets confused -- those little initials ("AI," "SL," etc.) behind each of Bryan's points reference one of the pillars/values that we have.
Nobody else needs to do what I did and spend a good three minutes trying to figure out whose initial they're supposed to represent. :)
I am reminded of a DC Talk lyric when I think about life being too short: "I never heard a dying soul, wish that he had taken more time on his portfolio..." I think that Meredith is right in asking how to put balance into our lives so we accomplish the things we must in order to live, along with the things that really matter (people, relationships, etc.). As far as the actual phrases used in the post:
not to LOVE: We don't really have a choice in this matter, we were commanded by Jesus to love one another.
not to DOODLE: Whether it's on paper, an instrument, or daydreaming, it's always a priority for me to take some time out where I don't really have to think and I can just enjoy playing around with something that doesn't really matter, which leads to;
not to PLAY: There is no greater joy in my day right now than coming home and getting down on the floor with my almost year old daughter and just playing with her. It's one of the few ways I can physically show her love when we can't really talk yet. My life would mean less if I didn't have some playing time.
not to READ: I love to read, I am beginning to make time in my day to read the most important book, but that's one of the best things about summer is I get to read as often as I like. This is one of the few ways that we are seperated from all the rest of creation. I also think life is to short not to write, but I guess if you're still reading you've figured this out.
not to POUR/SERVE/GIVE: Another of Jesus' commands, he gave his life, he served all of mankind, he poured out his life, a sacrifice for us. I think it's pretty clear we should do the same.
not to FISH: Mmm...fish...uh, anyway, Life is too short not to impact others lives for eternity.
I'll close with another lyric, this time from REM; "Oh no, I've said too much, I haven't said enough..." If you're still reading, be reminded: your life is too short to sit here reading blogs all day!
Post a Comment