Tempus Fugit

Living with purpose. Living with intent. This is how our lives could and should be. One moment, this moment, is really all we have. Oops. It's gone now. See? It's incredibly fleeting. So, for now, for this very moment, I choose to live here, fully aware, on purpose. I am writing now, because I know it's too easy to miss moments. Then, they become days and weeks and months. I don't want anyone reading this to miss it. Life is far too precious. All we did and do and will do can still count for eternity. We only need to allow God to take His rightful place in our lives. He'll do the rest.

Gather the fragments

Here's a challenge: Think. Think back. Think back to a time in your life, specific or not, where you'd like to "fix it" or "do it over." Let the memory come, growing more clear and perhaps more painful. It's ok. We all have them. Don't run. Don't wince. Face it. Stay with it for a while. Own it if you can. It might be little; it might be big. It's ok. It's yours. It is part of who you are, and why you are. What are you thinking? "How could I do that?" "What was I thinking?" "Am I stupid, or what?" "If only I had known..." "Why did that have to happen?" Fill in your own thoughts.
What are you feeling? Regret? Hate? Anger? Sadness? Disgust? Do those feelings feel foreign, or more like coming home? Have they ever really left?
So, what of this? Do we dredge up the past for the sake of it? No, no.

When Jesus had taken five small loaves and two fish and fed over 5,000 people, the crowd ate until they were satisfied. Not only that, but there were leftovers. Jesus told His disciples to take baskets and to gather the fragments so that nothing would be wasted. Imagine it.

Now, back to your life and mine. What if we ask Jesus to take the fragments, the broken pieces, the 'waste' (or so we might assume), and to somehow make something of it. Do you believe He could? Yes, indeed. I have seen it over and over. A mistake, a tragedy, an illness, a loss....something seemingly hopeless and meaningless. Yet, give it to Him, and He takes it in His most capable hands, and does something amazing. Open yourself to Him. He can bring new life where there was death, healing where there was brokenness, peace where there was regret. He can even give you new insight into yourself, and the ability to relate to others who are "there" right now.

Yes, Jesus is not called the Redeemer for nothing. He can buy back that which we thought was forever lost and completely irreparable. He can use you and your life's 'fragments' to enrich your life and the lives of others. Ask Him.

So, what mundane activities can actually become purposeful? Practically everything. One thing I really don't like to do much is grocery shopping. But, there is a wealth of opportunities to give purpose to this seemingly boring and repetitive activity. Look for someone to say "hello" to. Smile, even though you might feel awkward. Open your eyes to the wealth of choices and products we so take for granted. Offer a prayer of thanks for a country where we are free to choose; no one chooses for us. Tell the cashier she or he is doing great. Let someone get in front of you in line. Compliment someone on their work or their appearance. When you get home, and you've moved the same stuff from shelf to carriage to conveyor belt to carriage to car to house to fridge or pantry or cupboard: look at your shelves, your refrigerator, your freezer. Take it in. Thank God you have food. Thank God for resources to buy food. Thank God for abundance. Pray for those who are hungry right now. Pray for those who are in prison eating putrid or rotten scraps. Pray for those who have nothing. Let it sink in. See grocery shopping for what it is: a blessing.

ordinary can become purposeful

Now for an example of making our present matter intentionally. Do you have any idea how much time most people spend in their cars? Just imagine if we became determined to have that time be more than just a means to an end. Just imagine if those minutes and hours became vehicles (haha) for issues of eternal consequence. Let's say you have a 45-minute commute. Instead of growing stressed and impatient with traffic and other drivers, what if you said a short prayer for each person in the car in front of you. What if you prayed for your boss and your co-workers. What if you prayed for your family and friends. What if you thought of one person in your life that you could do something good for and not be found out. What if you asked God about your life: how could you become more like He is? What if you just turned off the radio and had a few moments of total silence and asked God to speak to you?
Ok. Now, you're saying, "but I'm never alone in the car!" So, maybe you carpool, or maybe you're a mom who carts kids around most of the day. Well, you have a different advantage and a separate opportunity. You have a captive audience. You can use the time to engage in meaningful [important word] conversation. You can approach difficult topics of moral and spiritual consequence. You can talk to your fellow passengers about things that matter in the eternal scheme of things. And, even better, you can listen. Really listen. Most of the people in our world these days are too busy to listen. You have a chance to actually establish relationships. What a gift.
See how this works? We all have a chance to make our moments (thus, our lives) significant if we but use them with intent. Life can actually become exciting and fun in a beautiful and almost secret way!

Make It Matter Intentionally

So, what's all this about? Make what matter? And intentionally? Well, here's the gist of it: I have learned in my more-than-half-over life, that all people come to the same end, namely, death. And I have also learned in my more-than-half-over life, that most people desire the same thing as they get ever closer to that inevitable end. They want their life to count for something. We all do. We want to know that our lives mattered. That somehow, in the grand scheme of things, we made a difference. Now, not everyone is a Pope or a President or a Mother Teresa. But, nonetheless, we can know that we can most certainly count. So, how? One huge factor, I am confident, is the beginning. THE Beginning, with a capital "B." God. Yes, the One Who can make sense of everything before, now, and yet to come. When God is in your life, and thus, in the equation, then you can have ultimate value and meaning. God can take the past that we cannot retrieve, and redeem it anyway. God can take the seemingly insignificant moments of our present and use them for amazing things. God can even shape our future before we get there. So, how to find meaning? Open your heart to Him, and get intentional.
Here's an example: My past had some (what I considered) wasted years...time I spent in lonely, self-pity and depression. I ended up with an eating disorder, very few friends, hating myself and my life. Can I go back and re-live those years? Of course not. Can I make them matter intentionally? Yes. I can tell young people what I did, so they don't have to go there. I can ask God to lead me to share openly to help others who may be experiencing depression or eating disorders right now. I can thank Him that it's not too late to live outward instead of inward.