Living Every Minute

Who’d’ve thunk it?

Surely not me.

But it happened and here I am, tapping away at the keyboard trying to explain it.

You see, I watched a movie. It was a kids’ movie, I suppose. It was animated. Parental Guidance was suggested. However, my kids are no longer kids so I watched alone. No parental guidance needed.

Disney’s Soul was the afternoon’s movie of choice. Have you seen it?

To be honest, I wasn’t planning on watching it. I wasn’t anxious to see Disney’s take on the afterlife and I surely wasn’t expecting to see their take on how we become who we are. But I was bored. The movie was about a music lover so I watched…

I don’t think I’ve ever had a children’s movie touch me so deeply.

I cried so many times during this movie. I could see myself in the main character, Joe, a middle-school band teacher whose dreams of being a jazz player only seemed to bring him disappointment and frustration.

I could hear myself screaming with Joe as he desperately explained why he kept pursuing his dreams:

“I’m just afraid that if I died today, then my life would have amounted to nothing.”

As Joe talks to his class about hearing a jazz musician play piano for the first time, I wondered where my passion was and why I’ve never felt so strongly about anything.

Then came the last lines of the film:

“What are you going to do with your life?” Joe was asked after receiving a second chance at life.

“I’m not sure,” replied Joe, ”but I do know I’m going to live every minute of it.”

That was it. That was the line that did me in. That was the line that had me bawling and very thankful that I was watching this movie alone, the line that has me writing this post and that may cause most of you to wonder about my sanity, the line that made me ask myself,

Am I living every minute of my life?

No! The answer to this question is 100%, without hesitation, N-O, no!

And this has to change.

Just like Joe, I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do it but what I do know is this:

1. You only get one life to live.
2. That life is short.
3. No matter how much of it you’ve wasted, it’s never too late to start living now!

What about you? Are you living every minute of your life?

I’d love to hear your inspiring stories. Tell me how you are living life to the fullest.

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Reason to SMILE #11: MORNINGS

 

Have you ever met a morning person?

No matter how early, a morning person is always cheerful and ready to meet the day with vim and vigor.  This person sings, “Hello” to everyone she encounters and bounces across the room like a child running off to play.

It truly is disgusting!

As you may have guessed, I am NOT a morning person.  It takes me quite a while each day to get moving and when I do, I really do not mind if no one says, “Good morning” to me or even speaks to me at all.  The only things I desire in the morning are

COFFEE

&

SILENCE

Regardless of my aversion to mornings, I am grateful for each one.  Mornings are a gift.  They offer each of us a fresh start, a new beginning.  Yesterday is, well, yesterday.  The mistakes we made, the hardships we faced, the messes we created, these are all in the past.

In fact, each day is like our own personal “do-over” granted to us by God Himself! With each ray of sunlight that peeks over the horizon, God is saying, “Here you go.  Let’s try this again!”

Now that ought to make us SMILE!

Oh, sure, the troubles from yesterday may still continue.  We made the mess; we have to clean it up.  But each new day gives us the opportunity to make better choices, to rid ourselves of bad habits, to repair broken relationships, to do whatever was left undone yesterday.

I may not be a morning person but I thank God for the mercies He gives to me with each new day.  And as I drink my coffee in silence this morning, I cannot help but SMILE at the endless possibilities this day has to offer.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)