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Sunday, September 27, 2009

One Month to Live Challenge

Me and the hubby just got done completing this Bible study, and I wanted to ramble about it here. For those who read this and aren't Christian, fear not, this post will actually not get too much into that part.

The premise of this study was thinking about what would you do if you had one month to live. As humans, we don't like to think too much about things like that. We may let it enter our minds fleetingly, but we shove it out on its way again as quickly as we can. This study was about making you really think about it, as if you ask yourself what would you do if you knew you only had that short time left, your answer shows you what your real priorities are. Then, when you figure out what would be really important to do, or how to be during that time period, you ask yourself, why aren't you already living that way? Because who knows, you really could be in an accident at any point and be gone.

So what if you were living your life that way? Spending the time with your children, spouse, and family that you would. Tell them what you would say. Get your faith (whatever it may be) to the point you would want it. Rebuild bridges you may have burned in the past. I think if we were to actually live that way, it would make the concept of dying just a bit less scary.

I had a bit of an interesting perspective for our group that was doing the study together. I have been quite acquainted with death for a long time. I grew up in a family where it just. . .happened. Frequently. I went to my first funeral when I was in elementary school. A cousin of my mother's named Brian was killed in a car accident, and it never slowed down from there. Death has always been kind of a more "real" thing for me. It was also insightful to take care of my mother when she was in her last weeks on this planet. I learned a lot doing that.

Ok, a bit off course there, I warned you there would be rambling.

Anyways, most of my thoughts through this challenge were about my kids. One thing that has evolved from this is I have started a diary. It's nothing much, just my recounting all that happened each day. I got the idea, because a few years ago for Christmas I got a wonderful gift. My great grandmother would wrote a diary for many years, and my great aunt had started typing them up, and we've been getting copies of certain years. It's a blessing to be able to get that peek into the past. It has also been very encouraging at times. I've always idolized my great grandmother. She raised six children, and was kind, patient, and everything I would hope to be. One day I was having a really bad day. The children wouldn't listen, Hannah was pretty little, and I just couldn't get anything done all day dealing with her. I felt like an all around failure and bad parent. Then I read my great grandmother's diary that night. I read an entry where she talked about her baby at the time crying all day, and that she didn't get anything done. Just that little tidbit made me feel so much better I can't even begin to describe it. To know that someone who I always looked up to, even had bad days like that.

Oops, more rambling. So, I've started a diary. I don't know if my kids, or their kids, etc. will be interested to read it. But, it will be there in case they are. I won't have to look back and think "I wish I would have written that stuff down." It will be there.

So, everyone out there. . .if you had one month to live, what would YOU do?

3 comments:

Lacey said...

It's a great study, but I am having a mental battle with finishing it. Hits a little too close to home right now.

Annie Lowery said...

This is a great bloog

Annie Lowery said...

Hi nice reading yyour blog