Miles In Missions

Recently I saw a movie called A Dog’s Purpose. The dog kept on living a great life and then would die and start over again as a puppy and then would die again and again. It was pretty sad really. I don’t think I would necessarily recommend the movie but it got me thinking of the song “Live Like You Were Dying by Tim MCgraw. See the lyrics at the end of the blog.

It made me ask myself a question. If I found out tomorrow I was dying how would I live my life differently? Would I still live in Nigeria? My immediate answer was, “No!” I think I would want to be with my family soaking up every last minute of time I had with them. I would want to snuggle with my kids and go on a date every night with my husband. I would want to see things and do things that were on my bucket list. So the question kept coming back, would I still live in Nigeria? If the answer was no, then why am I living here now? I really couldn’t answer the question and it bothered me.

Reading Deuteronomy recently showed me how Moses knew he was going to die. He continued to work making sure everything was ready for his successor Joshua and for the Israelites. When he found out he was going to die he didn’t stop his ministry and start experiencing everything on his bucket list. He continued his work and maybe even with more fervor and intentionality. Why? I think because he knew that there was something so much better ahead of him than anything on his bucket list. He wanted to finish well by leaving behind a message for the future generations so they could know the same peace, joy and hope he had.

I think so many times we think of dying as something so final when it is actually the beginning of our journey for those who believe in Jesus Christ. Our time on this earth is so tiny compared to the eternity we will spend in heaven with Christ. So would I stay in Nigeria if I found out I was dying? I wish I could say I would be just like Moses, but I don’t know…… Does this blog help me to realize I need to change some things in my life so that I treat every tomorrow as a gift? Yes. What about you? If you found out tomorrow you were dying would you keep on living life exactly they way you are today? If the answer is No, then ask yourself why?

He said
“I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
Talkin’ ’bout the options
And talkin’ ’bout sweet time”
I asked him
“When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How’s it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what’d you do?”

He said
“I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying”
And he said
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying”

He said
“I was finally the husband
That most of the time I wasn’t
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden going fishin’
Wasn’t such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
I finally read the Good Book, and I
Took a good, long, hard look
At what I’d do if I could do it all again
And then

I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying”
And he said
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying
Like tomorrow was a gift
And you’ve got eternity
To think about
What you’d do with it
What could you do with it
What did I do with it?
What would I do with it?

Skydiving
I went Rocky mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I watched an eagle as it was flying”
And he said
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying
To live like you were dying
To live like you were dying”