"...Faster Than Others."

Well, some may know, and some may not,  that an ideal relaxing vacation, from my point of view, is to go some place far away from cities, where I can see the stars, where trucks don't release their air breaks, and cars don't honk their horns... somewhere where life is simple and I'm surrounded by unsullied natural beauty.  That's not to say I hate cities.  I certainly do enjoy visiting them and being surrounded by their pulsating life.  But when I think, "How would I like to spend a relaxing vacation," I think of getting away from all the hustle and bustle.

I love the Smokey Mountains and the Rockies, and I love wide open spaces.  I've always thought I would love to go and spend a few weeks on a ranch out west or go sailing and whale watching on the ocean.

But I got to thinking the other day.  What if I only had a short time to live?  What would I do?  My initial thought, as it relates to travel and vacation, was: Go all the places I want to go.  Travel the world.

But then I thought again.  What would I REALLY do if I only had a short time to live?  How would I live?  What would I do?  Where would I go?

I decided my first priority wouldn't be those trips I'd like to take.  In fact, they ended up pretty low on the list.

Relationships were high on the list.  Sharing my faith was, too.  The biggest thing was leaving something of value behind.

I ask you - what would you do if you weren't going to be here on this earth long?  How would you live if you were going to face your Maker and Judge very soon?

The question isn't irrelevant.  I'm not dying soon (that I know of) and it's likely you aren't either.  But we can't count on that.

I'll never forget the time I first heard a quote (which has been attributed to several different sources) along these lines:

"We're all dying . . . some of us are just doing it faster than others."

And so I ask again, how would you live if you knew your life was short?  Really, the question should be: How WILL we live since our lives are short?

~M.