Focus On Living

I talked to a lady recently I used to serve as pastor. A very kind and generous woman who blessed my family repeatedly. I got word she had the dreadful disease of cancer. I called to pray with her and check on her on one of my commutes between Runaway Bay and Weatherford.

She told me when she first got diagnosed she cried and got depressed. That is understandable. What she told me next sunk in deep in my mind. She said after praying, the Lord brought her to the point to focus on living each day and not on the future. That is good advice for all of us.

Many face adversity. Adversity that can dominate our focus and prayers. While in the struggle we forget to live. That sounds odd I know. I am not talking about breathing. I am much more focused on living. Many people breathe but do not live. They exist. They plod through uneventful days. They endure the monotony of the mundane. They fall into the same routines. They have work schedules. If they are retired, they probably have a television schedule knowing what comes on at what time. It does not take long before even the television is filled with re-runs.

Today I challenge all of us to focus on living. If you are able, go outside. Look at God's creation. Enjoy the blue of the sky, the white of the clouds, the green of the grass (or brownish yellow if you live in Texas in the summer.) Take in the splendor of flowers. Savor your food instead of wolfing it down. Detect the different spices and flavors. Enjoy someone today. Maybe that means a phone conversation or a personal visit. Maybe it means writing a letter to brighten someone else's day.

While you can live. Live with all your might. Enjoy the simple pleasures. Really feel the cushions in the chair as they support you. Look at the craftsmanship of the furniture. When you get in bed, enjoy the mattress and pillows. Feel the covers in comfort as they envelope you. Eat off the good dishes even if you have to wash them.

Occupy your mind with something beneficial. Prayer and mediation on the Bible. A good  book. Listen to music. Detect the different instruments. Listen to the lyrics. And at least once today, go outside or look out a window. Look to the sky. Be reminded of how big God is and that He wants to commune with you.

We can get so busy surviving life that we forget to live life. Trials will always come in some shape or another. The Edwards family has had some in recent days. Trials do not mean we have to quit living. We can still live in the middle of suffering. The lady I talked to with cancer can testify to that. So can numerous others I have seen.

Let us approach life like a sponge. May we soak up the experiences  and simple pleasures daily. Afterward, may God squeeze us out to pour  blessings on those around us. Soaking and getting poured out to benefit others is a great blessing. That is the essence of living. While we still have the chance, let us live.

Even though my friend has cancer, her words ring true for us all. None of us knows how long we have left to live. What we can do is live with all our might this day God has given us.

Psalm 90:12 (NASB)
¹²  So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.