(I wrote this way back in 2005; and it still fits.)
When was the last time you caught your breath as your spirit soared and danced before God?
Several Augusts ago I had opportunity to hike to a mountaintop in Vail, CO. Rotating 360 degrees revealed a surround of mountain peaks. The air was clear and the sun warm in a cool breeze. Raising my eyes from the wildflowers stretching far down the grassy slope at my feet to the majestic mountains in the distance, my heart soared before the Lord.
“I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing,” words of Rabbi Hillel who lived in Jerusalem during the days of King Herod. King David danced before the Lord in II Samuel; and the Psalms teach that God turns our mourning into dancing and we are to praise Him with dancing. We may not get to choose how we die; but we do get to choose if we dance before we die.
Do you ever say, “I’ll be happy when…” or “someday when things settle, I’ll…” or “one of these days, I’m going to…”? If life could be boxed, tied neatly with string and placed on a shelf, then maybe we would be happy; but the reality is that life passes quickly and we, with it, are constantly changing. There are very few logical natural stopping places.
The older I grow, the more I become aware that time is accelerating. As of last Thursday, we no longer have a teenager in our family. Our youngest child turned 20 and I’m struck by the realization that a significant page in our book of parenting has turned. How strange that we don’t really know what we’re losing until one day it’s gone.
The most important things in life have to do with relationships—not possessions or accomplishments. So I wonder why is it that the things of greatest value get put off until some imaginary someday? Truth is, we’re all running low on “some days”; and if we plan to chase our dreams, we’d better get going.
An old Irish proverb says, “Dance as if no one were watching, sing as if no one were listening and live every day as if it were your last.”
To be continued…
