Life Is Too Short

What would you do if you knew you only had seven days to live? Who would you spend your time with? Who have you lifted up? Who have you made better? Who would you forgiven?

These past weeks have been a wake-up call for me. A reminder that everything is finite and nothing, absolutely nothing lasts forever.

There was a time when I took life for granted, but to be honest I pause every morning and thank the Lord for what he has done for me. Getting older has that effect. When you come to the realization that you have more years behind you than in front of you, material things become less important.

Things like realizing that a $300 watch and a $30 watch both tell the same time. A Michael Kors wallet and a Forever 21 wallet hold the same amount of money. A $300,000 house and a $100,000 house host the same loneliness. A Ford will drive you the same distance as a Bentley.

True happiness is not found in materialistic things it comes from the love and laughter found with each other. And as quiet as it’s kept, regardless of your status or stature you hold or accomplish in life, when you die the holes dug for us in the ground are all the same size.

So many of us go through life holding grudges against people for too long, and nine times out of 10 we’ve forgotten why we were upset with the person in the first place. One thing I know is that life is too short to worry about trivial stuff and guess what? It’s all trivial stuff.

People go to bed and wakeup everyday angry, disappointed, resentful and envious instead of appreciating how blessed they are to be alive and have people in their lives who genuinely care about them.

A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes to school. She instructed them, for every person they refuse to forgive in their life's experience, they would chose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag.

Some of their bags were quite heavy.

They were then told to carry this bag with them everywhere for one week, putting it beside their bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to their desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with them made it clear what a weight they were carrying spiritually, and how they had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget it or keep from leaving it in embarrassing places. 

Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty smelly slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain, negativity and hatred. Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person, but in actuality it is clearly a gift to ourselves!

It's time to let it go! Life is too short!