Don't Wait for Tomorrow
One of the themes I have stressed throughout my writing is the importance of living in the moment, while recognizing and giving God praise for His benevolence and the blessings He has given us.
As we enter what I call the “last third” of our lives, it becomes even more important to understand that time is a gift. We can plan for tomorrow, but we can only live today.
That lesson was brought home to me rather forcefully this past week.
After a bout of diarrhea, I became severely dehydrated and my potassium level dropped, sending me to the hospital. Thankfully, I received the treatment I needed and am now recovering.
But the experience gave me something I didn't expect, a different perspective on what is important and how I want to spend the time I have remaining. Lying in that hospital bed, I found myself thinking about all the things I have yet to do and all the things I still want to accomplish.
It reminded me how quickly an unexpected event can derail even the best plans we make for the future. We often live as though we have unlimited time. We don't.
That doesn't mean we should stop planning.
It means we should start doing. My next 13 weeks are already spoken for. I have classes to teach and students who are counting on me to be prepared. God willing, I will continue doing that work.
I also want to complete a couple of family recipe books. But these aren't simply collections of recipes. I want to prepare the dishes, photograph them, and add the family history and stories behind them.
My hope is that someday a member of the next generation will open one of those books and discover more than a recipe. They will discover a piece of our family's story. I am also changing how I approach my economics classes.
Along with teaching the required material, I want my students to connect economics to what is happening around them. I want them to look at the news through an economic lens rather than a political one, to ask questions, examine evidence, and understand the forces behind the headlines.
Perhaps that is what the last third of life is really about. It isn't about slowing down and simply waiting for life to happen. It is about learning, earning, and returning. It is about using the experience we have accumulated to teach others.
Creating something that will outlast us, serving our communities, strengthening our families, and pursuing the things we have always said we wanted to do.
My hospital visit was an unexpected reminder that none of us knows exactly how much time we have left.
So why wait?
There are books to write, students to teach, recipes to preserve, places to see, people to encourage, and stories to tell.
The best may still be ahead, but we have to be willing to live today to discover it.
God willing, I'll see you next week.
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