Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
”Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh
I wonder how peaceful our sleep would be if we took those words to heart before we went to bed each night after the events of the day bounced us around a bit.
I wonder how our days would go if we embraced those words of Christopher Robin for our lives as we put on our shoes and stepped out into whatever was before us into the sunshine of a brand new day.
Things we go through, things we see happening around us, remind us that the life we have been given to embrace and live here on earth is short. Things happen, people come in and go out of our lives—and we are reminded once again that we’re not promised tomorrow.
One time around in this life God has given us. We have been given one day at a time to live to the fullest and to make the most of—or not. We have been given the gift of the lives of loved ones that have blessed our lives, and would leave a huge hole in our lives were they gone.
Yet I would suspect that most of us, if not all of us, live as if we had all the days we wanted. I’m not sure we want to trust that belief.
I also suspect that we live life each day, not giving a whole lot of thought to the reality that this could very well be the last day we ever see the ones we love—bride, husband, children, grandchildren, friends, others who bless our lives. Again, I’m not sure we want to trust that belief, either.
I don’t want to seem melodramatic about all of this, but I wonder when we will start to live each day of our lives as if it is the last we may have. Because it very well may be the last. If that were our approach—I wonder how we would talk to those we love and who love us.
I wonder if we would leave the side of our loved ones as readily and often as we do. I wonder if we would stay that extra few hours at work each day so we could win the game on Saturday, or make sure to get that new account at the office that might lead to a raise or a promotion. How many times will we do that—and at what cost to the lives God has given us, and at what cost to our life which God has given us?
What causes us to live like that—to set aside those important people and things in our lives so we can chase the transient and secular? Maybe someone didn’t tell us often enough something like Christopher Robin said to Pooh, or something similar. Maybe we have fallen or failed too much and need to prove we can do it.
All at what cost?
I need to head out to wave goodbye to my granddaughters as they head out to school. I need to make a few calls to friends I haven’t spoken to in a while. I need to do better. How about you?
We get better with our priorities, for a time, when we’re reminded of the brevity of life by something we saw or read in the news, or experienced ourselves. But we need to do a lot better—we need to live with purpose, love and with the realization that our wicks, and those of our loved ones and dear friends, are not as long as we think they are.
If I forget to remind you for a few days how important you are—
“Promise me you’ll always remember:
You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think.”
But I hope you’ll hear it from me or someone else; and maybe someone will hear that—or something else just as encouraging—from you in the days ahead.
Share that, and so much more, with someone else you love, and who loves you, who may just need to hear from you today, and tomorrow and every day thereafter.
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2017. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
