Carpe diem

Everyone in the family had a better day healthwise today in comparison to the weekend. I felt nearly back to full strength. While my wife felt better, she still is on her way to full strength. I felt this pressure to catch up on work that has fallen behind during the last few days. This exemplifies my nature of living the future.

In the first issue (Jan/Feb 2006) of Relevant Magazine, there was a tribute by Cameron Strang to Pastor Kyle Lake (1972-2005). It was titled "Leaving a Legacy" (p. 16). Kyle, who was pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, tragically and unexpectedly died of electrocution while doing baptisms at his church. I remember hearing about this the day of the accident. However, I didn't know anything about him. He apparently was a remarkably spiritual and practical man who wrote the books "Understanding God's Will" and "(re)Understanding Prayer." University Baptist Church is the church of David Crowder, one of my favorite Christian worship leaders.

As a legacy to Kyle Lake, Strang quotes an excerpt of the final sermon that he never got to preach the day of his death on October 30, 2005. It is a good challenge to me to seize each day now, with the ups and downs of very young children, rather than get caught up too much in their future.

At the end of Garden State, Andrew Largeman has undergone a transformation. For the first time in his life, he's realized a sense of homesickness that he's felt for many years--that he's been running from. He's prevented himself from feeling, but what Sam does is that she gives him permission to be himself. To experience the here and now in a relationship of honesty and vulnerability. In grieving the death of his mom. In the comfort, warmth and messiness of friendship.

And here I think God is saying to each of us, "Abandon your plans of escape. And Be where you are. Plant gardens and live and live well." I don't know what your planting gardens may look like, but let me end there by trying to provide a glimpse into what that may be like:

Live. And live well.

BREATHE. Breathe in and breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. (bold mine)

On a crystal-clear, breezy, 70-degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allows those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to freeze your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.

Get knee-deep in a novel and lose track of time.

If you bike, pedal HARD...and if you crash, then crash well.

Feel the satisfaction of a job well done--a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.

If you must wipe the snot from you 3-year old's nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't catch it all...because soon he'll be wiping his own. (bold mine)

If you've recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because it is most definitely a gift. (bold mine)