Borrowed time-a step further: focus on eternity

I couldn't believe it. 

I went to church yesterday and I heard a message on the very topic I posted on, last Friday. I was so excited, because the pastor took the topic a step further from the point I stopped. He told us what to do in these times, which are apocalyptic. As the time draws near and the world careens to it's close,we should invest in eternity everyday. Simple. Hmmm, does that mean we should do nothing and just wait for the inevitable end? No. One needs to keep living but there is more to these times and to this life than survival and the pursuit of pleasures or money or fame or achievements or spouses or ...(you can fill in the blank I am sure).

 For those of us who are Christians , we should focus on the spiritual disciplines-prayer, bible study, worship, solitude, anything and everything that develops our spiritual lives, that readies us for eternity. For those who are not Christians, give Christianity (most especially Christ himself) a thought. A serious thought.

I remember once, a lady (actually my boss at the time) asked me if I believed there was another life beyond this one. I said yes. For some reason, she seemed surprised and asked me why. I told her that  when I looked around me, most especially at nature, I reasoned that everything I see must have come from somewhere...somebody or something must have created them. They didn't just begin to exist on their own. I told her another reason was this- I noticed that if a person gives himself or herself to evil or to doing bad (whatever you may decide to define as bad), there is this progression into being more evil, being worse, getting more and more enmeshed in whatever. For me, this pointed to the existence of the ultimate bad or ultimate evil state or entity; and if there be an ultimate evil, there must be an ultimate good.  I threw the question back at her and she answered that the way people died made her think that there must be something more than just this life. She explained that she was in a party the previous day and a friend  of hers who was dancing on the dance floor, slumped and died. She said she was sure his spirit or soul was still dancing even as his body fell. It happened so suddenly. I could actually picture it happening-him buggying away and then his body falling while his soul was still stepping. Funny...I know it's morbid but the mental picture is funny. She was holding on to the belief that life didn't end here.

All that is rational thinking and by the wayside. The real deal is that I have chosen to believe in God-the supreme being who is Creator of all, knows it all, is all powerful and all mighty. I have chosen to believe in Christ, His son and that is all that matters. Eternity with them is my focus. Well, is supposed to be my primary focus as I was reminded yesterday.

I find that I have many questions especially for those who are not Christians or anything. How do they manage their spirituality? Man cannot deny that there is more to him than just his body and mind (even the mind is ethereal in nature) . What is their focus? What guides them? I knew an atheist once and he seriously believed that there was no God. I wonder how he is processing all the events going on around us and  around him. 

In my experience, we all tend to focus on that which is pressing or in front of us. Our needs, desires and responsibilities. It is time to focus less on the now and begin to focus on the eternal, the ever after, the world beyond, the things we cannot touch and yet know that they exist, the things we sense  and most especially the One we sense because we came from Him. It is time to focus on God.

Thanks for reading. Cheers everyone.

Borrowed Time

Hello everyone,

Long time no blog!

I can't believe it is almost two years since the last time I blogged. Time is flying by so quickly. This thought has been echoing in my mind and in the very fibre of my being, "time, time, TIME is flying by".

A few days ago, I thought of a friend of mine who has kidney problems. Late last year, he had undergone a transplant and  his body first accepted then rejected the donor kidney. The old one was put back and he was asked to come back at least six months later. A colleague of mine was off work for some weeks and we were told that he underwent dialysis. It was while I was thinking of my colleague that I remembered my friend and I thought of asking him this question, "how does it feel to live on borrowed time?". And then it struck me- we are all living on  borrowed time. We are even worse off because we don't know how much time we have.

For a while now, I have been feeling like the world is spiraling really quickly to an end. Wars and more wars, pestilences (ebola!), natural disasters to name a few.  This brings to mind a bible verse that tells us to redeem the time, cause the days are evil. To top it all, is the very speed of time. I wake up at 4am and by the time I am fully awake, it is 4.30am. Okay, I drag myself up and start my devotions or absolution. I blink and it is 5.30am. And so my day goes. I get to work, putter around and it is 3.00pm. Where is this time flying to? Sometimes, I wish I can chase time down and ask it to sit in one place for a minute. I do that to my son who has boundless energy and expends it  by jumping around. Just watching him makes me tired (I know all mothers of little boys can relate...smile).

I find it a bit distressing that time is going by so quickly. My bucket list is still long and there is so much I wish to do. However, with the realization that we are living on borrowed time, or should I say living on very limited time, I made a decision. To start from now to do all those things I have been planning to do and yet keep postponing to a later day. I mean, the later day is almost here and will soon pass me by. I have pulled out the bucket list and have started the process of ticking away. This has brought me here...back to blogging.

Is there anything you have been postponing? I urge you to take the first step and begin. As a favorite writer of mine used to say,"beginning is half done".

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

 Happy New Year!!!

The year is 11 days old and counting. It  never ceases to amaze me how time just flies by.

I always like the new year-it gives us a nice reference point for reflection on the past and planning for the future. This year I have a very long wish/prayerlist- 2 pages long. It includes goals but mainly miracles. Do I have the faith to pull it off?to ask for many things, of myself and of my God? Not sure. However, I believe that I have a big God who can answer all of my prayers, if it so pleases Him.

I look forward to time flying by and to another new year, so I can look back and assess how many of my miracles and goals manifested in my life in 2013. Am I going too fast? Thinking of another new year when one just started.

A wise management guru told us to 'Begin with the end in mind'...lol...that is what I am doing.

Cheers everyone.