“To
everything there is a season…a time to be born and a time to die….”
Dear Friends
In addition to this familiar verse from Ecclesiastes 3,
there are many other expressions and reminders of the fragility of life, the uncertainty
of life, the fact that yes, make every day count because today is the
first day of the rest of your life.
The past three days have also grabbed my attention to pay attention to the psalmist who said, “teach us to number our days
(one translation says “realize the brevity of life”) so that we may grow in
wisdom” (90:12).
Yesterday,
there was my weekly Friday memo from The Rev. Scott Stoner of Living Compass, which
focused on a quote from Bob Dylan: “He not busy being born is busy dying”. See
part of his powerful message below.
And then this morning,
I received an even stronger message when I opened an e-mail from my Anaheim
High School reunion committee. (We are celebrating our postponed 50th
plus one reunion this fall.) It asked us to review a list of 58 classmates (out of 639) who had
died, and to let them know if there were others we knew about.
It was sobering. I knew about my best man, Doug, who died just a
few years after I got married in 1976. I did not know about Dave, dear friend and fellow cross country runner who went on to become a jockey, or Christine
who I had a big crush on in junior high or Lee who was a fellow "cast member" during the summers we worked at Disneyland (he was Donald Duck!).
The picture and message above (“You’re
another year older?”) is the cover of an early birthday card I received two days ago from Corona
Regional Medical Center where I volunteer. The message inside is “I just can’t
see it!”
Well, I can. And I can see that I have, God willing, just one
more year of the sixties, and hopefully many more into the seventies and eighties. But, of course, nothing is certain.
And so when I celebrate the Day of
Pentecost tomorrow, (sometimes called the “birthday of the
church”) I will be giving thanks for the Spirit which has guided me this far,
and calling on a fresh breath of Spirit to keep guiding me through as
many years as I am blessed to live, hopefully open and ready and willing to use
whatever time and talent and treasure I still have, to be used for good.
John
P.S. Here is the closing part of this week’s “Words of Wellness” column by the Rev. Scott Stoner:
I want to close with the lyrics of a
touching song Dylan wrote in 1973 as a prayer and blessing for his children.
The song, “Forever Young,” also speaks to me as a prayer and blessing for all
of us as we grow older. Staying forever young means having a curious and
evolving spirit, not living in or trying to hold on to the past, but continuing
to embrace the creative possibilities that remain, right now, in the present
moment.
May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
And just in case any of you forward this column to
him, I want to be sure to add, “Happy Birthday, Bob. And even though the times
they are a-changing, thanks for showing us all these years how to stay forever
young and how to stay busy being born—again, and again.”
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