|
When Life Gets Better
Practically all of
us, at one time or another lie to ourselves and tell ourselves
that our lives will get better once we get married and have that
baby we are looking forward to. But once we have the baby, and
perhaps another and even a third, we may find ourselves getting
frustrated because children do what they do, and we can hardly
wait for them to reach adolescent years so we can reason with
them. But, not so; things do not improve. Surely, then we will
be happier when our children grow out of the teen years.
But we
aren’t. So now we have to find something else to look forward to
and be happy about – a new car, taking a vacation, retirement.
Then we will be happy. But face it; the time to be happy is
right now. If not, then when?” It’s now or maybe never. Your
life will always be full of challenges. Go ahead, you know it’s
true and you’d better admit it. I bet there were a million times
when life was really going to start for you and then up popped
some obstacle, some ordeal to survive.
Did you
ever think that maybe all these obstacles have always been your
life and maybe always will be and, once you understand that, you
may also begin to see that there isn’t really any road to
happiness, because happiness is the road.
So enjoy
every moment of your life, the bad and the good, and stop
waiting for your life to begin. Spring will come, and so will
summer, and fall, and winter and you don’t have to do anything
to make them come, enjoy them. What a shame it would be to have
the years of your life pass you by, while you’re waiting for it
to begin. So think about that and while your thinking, let me
tell you a little story that kind of says what life is all about
and may even bring a tear to your eye.
Some time
back at the Seattle Olympics, nine athletes, all mentally
challenged, were standing on the starting line ready to run the
100-meter race. The gun sounded and the racers began to run;
they ran in groups of three. One young man tripped and fell on
to the road and started to cry. When they heard him crying, his
fellow racers slowed down and looked back. When they saw the
young man lying on the ground they all came back and one of
them, a girl with Down’s syndrome, came and sat beside the boy,
put her arms around him, hugged him and asked, “Feeling better
now?” Then all nine walked, shoulder to shoulder with him, to
the finish line. The whole crowd applauded for a very, very long
time.
You know,
I couldn’t help but think that if Jesus was running in this race
he would have done the very same thing the young lady did; he
would have gone back and given the young man a hug and then
walked shoulder to shoulder with him ti the finish line.
Isn’t
Jesus always doing that with us? Isn’t he always coming back
when he sees us stumble and fall as we run the “good race” of
life. And he hugs us and runs shoulder to shoulder with us to
the finish line.
The most important thing
in this life is to help others
to win even if that means
slowing down and changing
our own race.
A
candle loses
nothing if it
is used to light
another one.
|
