Each year about this time, many photos of class and family reunions find their way to the threads on FB and this year is certainly no exception. Usually I will not even look at them but over the last couple of days, I have looked at two class reunions from my hometown. In one pack, a graduate of 1968 posted his class reunion photos at their 25th, their 35th and their latest, the 45th. Having graduated from the same high school in 1966 and played basketball with some of them as younger players, I recognized quite a few from their most recent photos; always great to see. But what was most striking was the changes from across the years with the number of people there reducing with each reunion. All that is quite normal I realize but see that populational shift, the now white or no hair, the physical condition of the class; all caused me to take pause and reflect on my own life. Seeing another packet of photos from another high school in my hometown practically none of whom I had ever known, I was again struck by the physical changes that happens, called aging, in the lines and faces of those attending.
As I have processed the passage of time due to studying the photos, the mirror turned on my own life now approaching a 50th reunion in the not too distant future. Let me insert here that I feel physically and mentally blessed and love living life to the fullest. I love all I get to do for I can still do it; a blessing. In all of the introspective of this day, I realized that the measurement of life is far less about the number of days given you on this span but more importantly, in how you choose to invest in others including family. The miracle of Christ kept coming to me this day in a most powerful way in that He knew His days on earth would be few but He came to this earth on a mission and sought each day and with each relationship to fulfill that mission.
In teaching leadership to countless numbers of people in my span, I always begin with defining Mission for inset with that definition is the fuel for what drives this miracle called Life. Mission is defined as "one's reason to exist." Once you determine what your reason to be on this earth for but a few years is, then focusing the energies and skills given you to accomplish you unique, individual Mission is energized. Again, Christ's Mission was very clear and He sought to accomplish it with every breath He took until His last breath; then He went Home to be with His Father; our Father!
Many will look at spans of time through the prism of class or family reunions and get all depressed and worried about that time slipped or creep. There are others, I choose to be in that group, one that takes each day, each breath, each meeting to be the best I can be which is more and more for me measured by how best I can assist in making others' situation better. Given the opportunity to teach, to sing, to meet, to minister, to be a husband, a father, a grandfather, a man that loves Christ; I honestly do not see how life on this earth can be more fulfilling. The blessing of good health and energy and drive are the means by which my Mission can be achieved. I can say all of that with absolutely no ego-centric thoughts whatsoever.
See, I learned many years ago that you will never learn to lead anyone nor anything until you learn to Serve. So serving others in any and every way presented to you with those God will bring into your path physically, via things like FB, calls, email, etc, is not only a challenge but it is a Choice. So even though the hair is more white than black now and not as much of it, sometimes bones make strange sounds when you get out of bed or you have routine check ups with doctors for body, eyes, teeth, I never lose sight of what is my Mission. See, the Mission is the tether for all the events, challenges and desires of one's life. Thus, for whatever number of days or reunions remain before me, I know that my life is full and fulfilling for it is rooted in God's Word I love to dig into each day. My pastor, which is amazing, underscored that again in yesterday's sermon that if you want to know God Will, drill into God's Word. That may sound trite to some but to some I will get some Amens for I believe you know when you are in God's Will if you choose to be; I choose to be!
So this particular blog is more personal than most for me for seeing the brevity of life and the impact of life on this body is eyeopening whether you know the person or not. Realizing value of what you do on this journey here on earth is not the true measure of a man or a woman but rather the measure is what are you and I doing to cause people to seek to be saved from an eternal Hell; that is the measure, right?
Again at a very personal level, I think all of this I have written about above is part of this internal churn I am feeling about returning to teaching at the university level which means pulling back from some of the other things I am now invested in. See, in the ten years of teaching, I became fundamentally aware that teaching young minds is more than an hour in a class room but more about this; if you truly care and invest yourself into that student, you are touching the future and the legacy of that student for two generations in what you say, how you conduct yourself, how you reflect God's touch on your life; how much you care!
In closing, can you articulate what really is your Mission for this journey of life? Let me say that I know I am blessed. I know that I am getting to do what I believe is right and good in God's eyes; not mine but realizing alignment exists with His Will and what I get to do, makes the water cooler and the air cleaner. See, the great news is that when this life is over, it just gets better for eternity. Can I get a witness to that?
For those that have put up the reunion photos, thank you and thus see what you caused to happen within me? God is good; no, God is Great!!!!!
Amen
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