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Vol. 11 No. 9 September 2009 |
Page 11 |
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Vol. 11 No. 9 September 2009 |
Page 11 |
Dean Kelly
Life. Yes, I think that is a statement. That one word sends a cascade of images flooding through my mind. There are the things that I cannot remember: being born, childhood, what happened yesterday (no snide remarks!). There are the things that are forever burned in my mind: sitting on the top bunk bed with my feet dangling down as my parents grilled me as to whether I really understood what baptism meant; the day I first joked with my future wife, and noticed her beautiful eyes, as she went through the breakfast line where I was serving in college; the first time I saw my oldest son in his mother’s arms, and saw me reflected in his eyes; I could go on, of course, for an eternity recounting the things that I remember as if they were still happening..
Life. Each moment is another portion of life. Some I have spent to the fullest. Some I have wasted unforgivably. Life sometimes has made me laugh out loud, and sometimes has made me cry uncontrollably. Very seldom has life left me bored. Life is made up of things from several sources.
Some of Life has been built based on the choices that I have made. The really good things in Life have occasionally come due to choices I have made. On the other hand, some of the worst things I have experienced have come as a result of my choices. Once in a while I can say, “Wow, I really made the right choice.” At other times I have given in to foolishness, or listened to my desires more than my good sense, or have forgotten to “consult the Lord” (Like Joshua and the Gibeonites). Either way, much of Life has been my choice.Some of Life has been shaped by other people’s decisions. As a child, my parents’ decisions always impacted my Life, beyond my control. Even now, the lives of my children and my wife impact what Life is for me. Through the years, I have spent countless hours of Life rooting for my children to be successful in whatever endeavor they might be involved in at the moment. (That rooting was often at 2:00 a.m. as I lay unable to sleep thinking about it.) I have anguished over the choices that they might make, or the pain that they might be feeling. As Life has gone on, many strangers have impacted my Life in ways they may have never known or intended, either for good or bad. That is all part of Life.
Some of Life is just part of living; there is no one to blame; these things are just part of Life. Sickness, disasters, pain and even death, very often are just things that happen. They are part of what makes Life such a varied experience. Each event may not be able to be explained with a “This happened because…” but fortunately, it has all come together as days go by as Life.Life. One day I will trade it for eternity. Everyone will. My prayer is that then I will learn what Life really is—Eternal Life with the saved of all the ages. Meanwhile, I will sit back and just enjoy the ride that I am on now. I will just enjoy—Life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).