Live It

I recently learned that  Dr. Richard Swenson will be one of the keynote speakers at our upcoming state homeschool convention in June.  I have heard of Dr. Swenson's books but have not read any of his writings (yet).  Yesterday I visited his website and found an excerpt that really hit my heart deeply.  I want to share the article with you on this day when all of our hearts are burdened by the devastation in Japan.  You can read the original excerpt here on his site. 

A Minute of Margin by Richard A. Swenson, MD

REFLECTION 1 - Priorities

One September Morning on the 103rd Floor

 If you attempt to talk with a dying man about sports or business, he is no longer interested.  He now sees other things as more important.  People who are dying recognize what we often forget, that we are standing on the brink of another world.  William Law

The skies were partly cloudy, the temperature was 68 degrees, the wind was out of the west at 10 mph.  A beautiful day.  At 8:45 AM, people working on the 103rd floor were pouring their morning coffee, straightening their desks, reviewing their Tuesday appointments, bantering with office mates, glancing at the harbor . . .  

One minute later, none of that mattered.  Twenty floors below, a 757 transected the building leaving the 103rd cut off, trapped, hopeless.  But not yet dead. 

When you have ten minutes to live, what are your thoughts?  What is important in the last seconds?  As a tribute to those nameless faces staring down at us from the smoky inferno, can we stop what we are doing long enough to listen to them?  Seeing death from this perspective is not morbid: on the contrary, it can help us see life.

Those who found phones called--not their stock brokers to check the latest ticker, not their hair stylists to cancel the afternoon’s appointment, not even their insurance agents to check coverage levels.  They called spouses to say “I love you” one last time, children to say “You are precious” one last time, parents to say “Thank you” one last time.  Through tears they called best friends, neighbors, pastors and priests and rabbis.  “I just want you to know what you mean to me.”  And surely those standing on the brink of another world thought of God--of truth and eternity, judgment and redemption, grace and the Gospel.

Imminent death has a commanding power to straighten life’s priorities with a jolt.  At such dramatic moments, people suddenly realize that priorities matter. Tragically, however, chronic overloading obscures this truth.  How we live influences how we die, and misplaced busyness leads to terminal regrets.  If we don’t move to establish and then guard that which matters most, the breathless pace of daily overload will blind us to eternal priorities, until one day we too stand at such a window and look down.  Perhaps with regret.

Rx: Slow the pace of living until you again remember that day.  If that were you on the 103rd floor, what would have been important?  Live it.  Don’t hide behind the excuse of overload.  Daily make space in your life for the things that matter most. 

The afternoon knows what the morning never dreamed.  Swedish proverb

None of us are promised our next breath. We can leave this world at any time and in any way.   I urge any of you reading this blog today to be sure of your eternal future. Make your final destination your first priority in life. Cry out to The Lord today.  Don't delay.  Romans 10:9 says, "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

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On another note, Today is Friday and that means I am linking up with my Company Girls.  Have a blessed weekend!