11 October, 2005

The Quest for Immortality

This morning shortly after awakening, I looked into the mirror, turned to my wife and said, "Ooh, scary looking guy in there." She said, "I am not afraid," and turned and walked away. I said under my breath, "now that's love," and I looked back into the mirror at the bags under my eyes, the hair that once was shiny black now a lighter shade with a lot of gray wove throughout, and the sagging chin and jaw line. I thought to myself, "Why in God's name would anyone want to live forever?"

You young folks reading this are not going to understand this as much as those of us in the over 40 crowd. Something happens to you along the way, that one day you will experience, and you will know it when it hits you. One day you wake up, look in the mirror and say, "What happened?" It is just like one day a switch gets flipped and you realize, horror of horrors that you are getting older. You can do all the exercise, take all the vitamins and supplements, do all the right things, but it is still going to hit you. It is just a fact of life.
Deal with it!
What is so funny to me now is, I remember when I was 20 years old and the depressing thought hit me, "Man, I am getting old."
Yes, I really thought that at 20. In my ripe old age and wisdom, 20 was just ancient. I figured that I was not a teenager any longer, and in just weeks, I was going to be "an adult"! Life was passing me by!
Now, here I am some 26 years later... and I find myself thinking, "Man, where did the years go?"
Am I getting ready to cash in my chips? Hardly!
I tell my wife all the time that she better take good care of herself, because I plan on living to be 103, and that is too old to be chasing after a new wife, so she'd better plan on staying with me.

What is it that makes us seek immortality?
I remember a line from a book that Susan Ertz wrote where she says,
"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
Man, how true is that statement?
After my recent heart scare, I find myself looking at life in a different way. Rather than worrying about how long I will be on this earth, or even if I will be here tomorrow, I am trying to live each day to make it count. I am trying to spend more time with my kids, even though that is getting harder and harder with their hectic schedules, and the ever ensuing battle to get my son to emerge from his cave.
Yesterday, there was a lot of work to be done, but my kids were out of school, so I said to myself, "the work will always be there... they won't." So I took them out for pizza, played some football with them and took them to play mini-golf.
Yes, I am behind in my work today, but I am a richer man for it.
I won't live forever. They will be gone from my home in just a few short years.
I made an important decision yesterday to live my life rather than let my life live me.
None of us are immortal. We will all face death one day.
Make your life count. Make each day matter.
And most of all, if you haven't done it yet... make sure you invite Jesus into your life. He will make this journey a whole lot more appealing, and trust me, the final destination is one you do not want to miss!

1 comment:

Pastor Jeff said...

Great thought, Darrell. ik gotta say, I'm starting to feel old at the ripe old age of 30! I can tell you, it is so important to make sure that we are taking the time to enjoy the life that God gave us, and to take time for our most important members, the ones we come home to. Thanks for giving me some great advice before ever getting that first pastorate. God Bless