I was baking cookies with residents the other day, when one of the ladies who lives in our apartments waved at me. We had become friends during the years of difficult experiences in her life–the dementia, decline and eventual death of her precious husband. It had been over a year, and she was slowly rebuilding the blocks of her days, and finding new ways to express who she was. When I saw her, she was on her way to be a volunteer reader in our care sections.
It had been several weeks since we had connected, and I was waiting for the cookies to bake, so I slipped out to the hallway to give her a hug. In our brief moments of sharing, I told her the news of my marriage. She was ecstatic. For a tiny lady, she had a hammerlock hug. We laughed and giggled like schoolgirls over my ring and the details I was able to squeeze into those few minutes. She left, and I ran to pull the cookies out of the oven.
Abruptly, I realized she was standing beside me again.She seized my arm, fixed her piercing blue eyes on my face, and said, “Live life. Life is short.”
Indeed.
She and her husband lived life. They had amazing experiences in the time God gave them, and they cherished a love that was unusual and precious. Her only regrets are that there wasn’t more time.
This weekend, I want to clean the house, wash the living room windows and garden. Maybe some laundry and groceries. These necessary items need doing, and there is a restlessness in me that won’t be satisfied until they’re done. My constant struggle is balance. I say, “When this or that is done, then I will live life.” Problem is, there is no end to my list. I can always find another “this” or “that.”
Lord, help me in all my tomorrows to live life in the midst of the mundane that needs to be done. Life is in the window washing and the laundry as much as in every other experience. Help me to release my task-focused nature and focus on You and Your gifts to me. Fill me with the joy of living life, today. Whatever today holds.
What changes do you need to make, today, to ensure you are living life?