“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
In the last month I have attended the funerals of two remarkable people who have had a great impact on my life. Two people who touched numerous lives in such humble and self-less ways that even they were unaware of the difference they have made in the world. They lived generously, they loved extravagantly, they served others. In everything. They ran their race well. They both left their mark on my life and I still have so much to learn from how they lived their lives. So much to emulate.
I have become a student of loss. It has been a persistent instructor, but I am beginning to see it has much to teach. So, as I sit here, remembering, these are the lessons that I have learned and now am challenged to live:
Tomorrow is not a guarantee. Nowhere does there exist a guarantee that tomorrow will come. Or the next week, next season, next year. Even the next second, our very next breath is not ours to command. In an instant, every plan we have laid can disappear. That is why James 4:14 tells us that life is like a vapour. A puff of smoke on the wind. And yet we live as though we are invincible; Making choices today that affect our tomorrow without a thought. Or we live only for tomorrow – for the next big break, the next promotion, the next success – forgetting that today is a gift. We would do well to slow down. Breathe. Live in the moment. Love in the moment. Carpe diem – seize the day. Then we can really appreciate tomorrow. We should never stop dreaming and looking ahead, but live fully present. Because right now is all that we can be sure we have. And it is full of treasures waiting to be discovered.
Speak and act on the love in your heart. A funeral is a place of recollection. Where we highlight and celebrate the life of the one who has passed. A time to recall the shared conversations. To remember the times that you enjoyed together. But how often can they be times of guilt as well. When we speak the words we wish we had for the first time. Too often we have the words, think the thoughts, and feel the love inwardly, but never make the time or put on the brave to speak or show them to the person we love. Or maybe it’s forgiveness that we need to extend. Or an old hurt to lay to rest. A funeral should be a place for remembering, not for regret. Look around. Find your brave. Don’t let the words go unsaid. Give honor where honor is due. Take a hold of the chance you have today.
Make the biggest hole possible. When we lose someone, we often feel that they have left a hole in our hearts and lives. The place they once occupied is now empty and filled only with memory. The size of the hole is determined by the life that was lived and the love that was spread. But the thing I am learning is that to live life to the fullest, we need to live BIG. If we live big, we love big, share big, care big, and we will leave the biggest hole behind because we will have touched the most lives. Abundant love, spilling over leaves behind the biggest hole, but also contains the profound joy of its experience. I have determined to leave a bigger hole. The biggest that I can, not so that others can know pain in my passing, but so they can say they experienced love in my living.
Leave the best legacy. Yes, a hole is left when we lose someone, but what fills and lives on is the legacy that they left behind. Legacy is what they “pay forward”. The best legacies are left by those who live for others. The best legacies are about investment, future reward, not immediate gain or temporary satisfaction. They are ones that are filled with love and passion and purpose.
All of us have been given legacies from those who have gone before us. Some we have cherished and learned from. Others we have wished to forget. A legacy may be a treasure. And sometimes it lives on in our scars. So, what will yours and mine look like? Look ahead and see beyond the horizon. Is the legacy that we are leaving one of hope or sorrow? Live the change today that you want to leave behind for tomorrow.
Cast a long shadow. To have a lasting or pervasive influence. Every day we have the ability to influence the world of those around us. How we live, determines whether that influence is positive or negative. In 2 Tim 1:5, Paul writes to Timothy about the sincere faith that lived on in him, passed down from his grandmother and mother. I can see evidence of this in my own life. Nothing has impacted my life more than the faith my own mother, grandmother, and other prominent people in my life have shown. I have watched how they lived out and shared their faith in tangible ways. How they illuminated Jesus and exemplified what the true body of Christ looks like. They cast a long shadow. One that is still influencing others, now that the sun has gone down and their race is done. It is these very same champions of the faith that have joined the great crowd of witnesses to cheer us on in the running of our own race.
But just like a shadow can only affect what it touches, change is a choice belonging to those who are touched by it. So, am I just being affected, or actively growing in my own faith? How am I running my race? Am I even casting a shadow? When we live our lives in pursuit of the Son, the shadow we cast touches the world around us. Pursuing Christ, with our whole being, consciously listening to His voice and obeying the prompting of His Spirit – this is living a life of dependence on Him. And a life like that shows. That is our influence. When the day ends, the shadows grow longer. The longer the shadow, the more that it touches. So, cast a shadow that will reach for generations.
Perhaps for some, thinking about the end of life is depressing, but if we don’t think about tomorrow in the today that we have, we don’t live our life on purpose. And not living on purpose means not living fully. Not living extravagantly. Not living real. Life is about so much more than just me, or you, or what we want out of life. It’s about running well; being obedient to the voice of Christ in every day and touching the lives that intersect ours with His Light. Being a reflection of Christ and living and loving with all that we are. So, that when we come to the end of our race, we can say, hear the words “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” #runwell #bereal2018
In memory of Eric Penner, my mentor and friend – who was Jesus with skin on so many times, who told me I was special and beautiful every time we met and meant it every time, and Dorothy Kleinsasser, my lovely friend who loved BIG and invited me into her generous “mama” heart and made a place for me. You are greatly missed, but you ran well. Enjoy your rest.
Of Shattered Things 