Last week the hubs and I sat at a picnic table reveling in our bi-annual, kid-free, mortgage-the-house-just-to-pay-the-college-babysitter date night. Over a romantic bowl of three-dollar chips and salsa (because we know how class it up) we talked about life and chance. We talked about risk and sacrifice. We talked about big picture and small picture. We might have even shed a salty tear or two. Or was that salt from the margarita? Or the chips? Who cares? There was a lot of salt flying around that table.
Two rounds of salsa and four tacos later we had solved the world’s problems and reached one conclusion: We have only one life. ONE LIFE. That’s it. No more, no less. One chance to do it right and do it well.
- One chance to listen.
- One chance to be BRAVE.
- One chance to serve others.
- One chance to live out loud.
- One chance to feed a hungry belly.
- One chance to save a failing marriage.
- One chance to care for widows and orphans.
- One chance to love others as He has loved us.
This blog, this book, this ministry are all a part of my one chance, my ONE life. They are all a part of my futile attempt to give back to my Creator. To take my one chance and make it count.
Stories
Two days after our salty, spendy date night, we sat in church and heard our pastor say, “Your legacy is simply a collection of stories from your life.”
So I thought about that. If God gives us only ONE life and ONE chance, and we collect a lot of stories as we go through this one life, what stories do I want to collect along the way? (Get ready people, cuz our stories are about to get a whole lot more interesting. More of that to come later.)
If the most significant stories of our lives revolve around vacations and marathons and redecorating our homes, then we miss out on our one chance. Don’t get me wrong, our stories can include all of these things, they just can’t include ONLY these things.
So I challenge you—as I have been challenged this week—to think about how God wants you to use your one chance. How does God want you to spend your ONE life? Now go and live it well.
You did not choose Me. I chose you, and I orchestrated all of this so that you would be sent out and bear great and perpetual fruit. As you do this, anything you ask the Father in My name will be done. This is My command to you; love one another. – John 15:16-17, The Voice
