Life is short... but plenty long.
I’m all about celebrating the silly, serious, simple, significant, and everything in between; so I sort of love that there are a bunch of national-[fill in the blank]-holidays happening each and every day! And apparently February 22nd has been deemed National Walking the Dog Day. I’m thinking our hilarious and handsome mess of a hound Maxwell had something to do with this one - the word “walk” (and the actual taking of the walk) fills every cell in his body with the fullest joy.
Because I promise you don’t want to see what I actually wear when we walk around the neighborhood. // Photo by my wonderful friend Ly Sue of LH Photography
On our stroll around the neighborhood a few days ago, we passed a man who put the biggest smile on my face, and I’ve been thinking about him ever since. This man was probably pushing 70 and was walking at a pace on par for his age. As he got closer, I heard the Runkeeper App announce that he’d hit 1.5 miles. So great, right?! And when the Runkeeper lady finished talking, another voice came streaming through the speakers - he was learning Spanish via the Duolingo App! Is that not the coolest thing?! I smiled and waved at him, and after he passed, I just turned and looked at him for a second, and I was reminded that yes, life is short, but it’s also plenty long.
I am guilty of trying to cram everything I want to accomplish in life into my current decade. I want to write a book; I want to travel everywhere; I want to build my dream home. And for whatever reason, I want it all to be done right now.
It is absolute truth that not one of us knows how many days we will get to walk this earth. And yes, that should motivate us to be brave and take risks and be more generous with our I-love-yous and thank-yous. But it shouldn’t make us feel like it’s “now or never” when it comes to our dreams.
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” // Psalm 139:16
I have a 50-year-old friend who just got engaged for the first time, a 60-year-old friend who is starting a new business, a 50-something mother-in-law who is starting up a new ministry at her church, and apparently a 70-something neighbor who is learning how to speak Spanish. They are living their best lives right where they are, and they’ve each been such a sweet reminder to me that life doesn’t stop getting good at 30, 40, 60, 80, or 100! I don’t have to accomplish all my goals and live out all my dreams ASAP. Heck, I’ve probably only seen the tip of the iceberg of my dreams at this point!
All of those older-and-wiser examples in my life remind me that “life is short” means that we should never put off living lives full of love, joy, courage, kindness, and boldness… it does not mean that we should run ourselves ragged trying to do and accomplish all-the-things right this very second. I’m not sure if it’s just me or our generation or the whole world, but this false sense of urgency that continues to creep in and grow in our minds is just plain exhausting and just plain untrue.
Do you ever catch yourself thinking, ‘If I don’t [fill in the blank] right now, it will never happen’? Yeah, me too. But here’s the truth: that’s not true.
“Life is short” doesn’t mean to rush through your to-do list for fear of dying tomorrow. It means to slow down and savor each second we’ve been gifted, trusting that time will bring us beautiful opportunities and adventures and dreams that we don’t even know about. And if a long life here on earth isn’t the story that’s been written for me or for you, I can guarantee that if you know Jesus, eternity with him will leave no room for regretting what was left undone in this world.
// I’m going to be really honest, this post is came out differently than I imagined. The words didn’t flow quite as well as I’d hoped, and my thoughts felt kind of rambly and discombobulated. But I’m battling obsession with perfection and simply hoping you walk away feeling more freedom and less pressure. And if anything, I’m hoping the visual of a 70-year-old man running multiple apps on his iPhone, exercising, and learning a new language all at once puts a smile on your face.