Let's learn to live today...while we can

What are we waiting for? Let’s learn to live life today to the fullest!

The older I become, the more I’ve come to realize this sad fact. People, including good Christian people, are always waiting for one other thing to happen in their lives or for something to change before they begin to live the good life they’ve been planning on living for years. Life is always in the future — and not in the present.

Men and women are both guilty. Neither gender is exempt from falling into this trap. Young men want to get their education and establish themselves in a profitable career before they settle down into rearing children, and that’s good and commendable, but sometimes circumstances don’t work out that way. Young women want to get that next new home or a better job or have some beauty procedure done before they get on with life. Or, they want to meet the perfect man who will bring them the happiness they desire and deserve.

Perhaps God’s timing is different and should be considered seriously.

I recently talked with a young lady whose heart and soul is entrenched in obtaining a new home and exquisite décor, basically to keep up with the Joneses. In this case, it happened to be the women’s sister-in-law and her husband she wanted and needed to keep up with, or so she thought. She had two precious children, but the little blonde boy and dark-eyed little girl seemed almost secondary in her thinking. She was willing to sacrifice time, money and energy to get what she wanted. Everything had to be a name brand from a reputable store. Nothing but the best was truly her motto for life. Shopping and having things encompassed her thought patterns and her everyday conversations.

It was obvious to even a casual observer that her children needed her and she didn’t even know it — or so it seemed. Both were hungry for personal attention and needed loving care. Their clothing was not what it could have been and meals were quick, throw-togethers without much thought. Farming the kids out for someone else to keep apparently was the pattern in this home and the young mother thought nothing of asking a friend or neighbor to keep either or both for the day while she shopped and spent.

When the father arrived home for the night, supper was a hurried and loud affair with no one really hearing what the other person was saying. Getting the kids bathed and into bed was a struggle that involved screaming and shouting and threats all around. There was little love demonstrated and certainly no time given for home training or for a quiet bedtime story or even conversation about the day’s events. The memories this family is building will not be Kodak moments in the future unless things are changed immediately.

Older folks are guilty, too. We believe we must wait until we obtain that perfect job. We are on our professional career path and we work like dogs to get where we want to go often trampling on those around us as we climb that corporate ladder. Our bodies and our minds are literally worn out by the time we get home to share what should be the most important time with family and dear friends. We burn out, wear out, bum out or are displaced because we can no longer keep up, and yet, we are still waiting to start living.

Many of us say, either consciously or subconsciously, “when we retire, we’ll begin living,” but I wonder if we haven’t been practicing living all those years, will we really know how to begin living when we are not longer accountable to the time clock or the boss? Or, by then, will we be so entrenched in the hurry up and wait cycle that we cannot break out of it?

Christian workers are not exempt either. I’ve seen so many “professional” Christians, people who serve on church staffs and in our Christian education circles, who are simply working so hard to get ahead or to be successful that they’ve actually forgotten why they are there in the first place. They are so deeply ingrained in doing the Lord’s work that they don’t really accomplish much. And, motives — who has time for them? How long has it been since we’ve really taken the necessary time to examine our motives? Why do we do what we do? The answers might just shock us into reality again.

God has promised His people an abundant life. He wants us to enjoy the beauty He has created. He planned for us to enjoy living our lives. We are becoming our own worst enemy. When did you and your family enjoy a loud laugh last? When did you and your children enjoy a new discovery together? What game did you engage in last with your family? When did you travel together for a really fun trip, not business, not because of sickness or not necessarily to see relatives? What do you have planned, as a parent, for spring or summer fun for the entire family? Will you manage to do anything together?

Gratitude for His bounty and His wonderful gifts is a good starting point to the beginning of truly enjoying our time on earth. Enjoying natural wonders He has created is great for families and close friends. Our families and our children and our friends need us now. They may not be here to need us tomorrow. Or, we may not be here to be needed. These are grim facts, but oh, so true. One friend of mine recently said she had attended 11 funerals of good friends since Jan. 1 of this year. How sad.

A lifetime is actually pretty short when you think about it. The Bible mentions three score and ten years — 70 years, and many don’t make it that far because of health issues, worry or accidents in the fast lane in which we choose to live our lives. We bury folks every day who never started living the lives they planned to live. Many die before they ever leave the starting gate. And they certainly don’t make it around the track of a long life.

Somehow, while folks were waiting to begin living, life got away from them. One writer recently said, “Life is what happens to us while we are living every day.” I challenge every reader of The Examiner today to start living the life you planned to live beginning today as you read this column. If we don’t live today and tomorrow, when will we live?

Surely, we are intelligent enough beings to know that time stands still for no one. This fact was called to my own personal attention a few days ago in a very real and dramatic way. I have buried way too many family members and friends that I’m not certain ever learned to live the way they planned. We must not dream our lives away — we must live them away very carefully and courageously.

“Remember how short my time is…” (Psalm 89:47)

“Redeeming (or cherishing) the time…” (Ephesians 5:16)

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com.