"Live every day like it's your last". I don't believe that statement. It's unrealistic! That suggests it's only about doing things you want to do and forget the priorities of your life, forget the needs of family and friends. If that was the case I would be sure a bit of each day would be on a beach, eating out, taking walks in beautiful places, visiting grandkids schools and enjoying what is important to them, island hopping, living a financially worry free life in Cambridge, England, or perhaps volunteering in some part of the world with orphan children. If today were my last, it would not be about writing a blog post, sending an email, writing up staff meeting minutes, taking out the trash or planning next week's menu. If I were to live every day like my last, I wouldn't ever work.
So where is the balance? Russ' Parkinson's Disease has put us in the precarious position of balance…literally! As he slowly looses his mobility we need to work together to make life have purpose. We need to find the pieces that touch each of our souls and not loose sight of those. We need to accept the present and embrace that which is going on. To do that, honesty is key.
When we're younger we believe our life has an endless supply of days. As Pastor Jeff has often reminded us "Guess what folks…I hate to bare the sad news, but one day we all die to this world." So where does that leave us today? It leaves us knowing that we need to make life matter. Right now. Today.
1 Corinthians 13:13 / "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love."
I am part of a group I call the 'Wives Club'. All our husbands have Parkinson's Disease and while each PD patient experiences the disease in a different way, we can be there for one another to help with vision; to help one another see beyond the gray cloud of trial, of worry, of impatience and of decline. We need to live each day in faith, hope and love with a rich honesty that both wakes and closes each day. Sometimes that takes friends to walk beside you. Sometimes it is waking to a day and reminding yourself of what your soul craves…faith, hope and love.