Relationships

Gone in an Instant

Tornado Aftermath from Google ImagesThe camera panned in as the funnel cloud tore through the subdivision across the street. I don’t know what the neighbor was thinking, standing by her window, videotaping the storm outside her door. Her hand was so steady, her voice so calm. If it were me, I’d be running for cover, even with the funnel cloud moving the opposite direction. But she seemed oblivious to imminent danger.

It must have been surreal, watching the world as she knew it come crumbling down before her eyes. Did she fear for her own life? Her own family? Her own house and things?

This tornado hit down about an hour from where I live—closer to home than any twister yet. For the woman behind the camera, it was inches away. Did the reality hit her as hard as it hit those across the street?

We see videos of hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, or tornadoes and are struck with the horror that faces the victims along with the fleeting thought of what if it happened to me? The thought washes away as quickly as the storm as we return to our daily lives. Are we ever sufficiently gripped with the reality that much of what we labor for could be gone in an instant? Can we honestly say what we invest our time, energy, and resources in is worth it if it can be so easily be destroyed?

I once watched a video of the Indonesian tsunami’s aftermath, and was taken by all the stuff floating through the water—stuff people had once invested their lives in…gone. More recently, I spoke with a woman who lost everything but her family to a fire. All she and her husband labored for…ashes and soot.

How easily we convince ourselves that material things are worthy of our labor, while the important things slip away unnoticed until tragedy strikes. The storms are ever closer, bidding us to open our eyes. Live for what’s important. Live for what truly matters. Live for what lasts. Don’t waste precious minutes fretting for that which is destined to fade. Stop. Now. Consider what’s truly worth living for.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Beyond Average

Blog_ColoringChalkMy six-year old niece hired me for her fashion design company once and that’s as close as I’ll ever get to the profession. As clear and elaborate as the princess gown ideas were in my mind, the end results were nothing more than stick figures wearing lopsided triangles. It was enough to appease my niece, but in comparison to even the most amateur in the field, my designs were average.

This seems to be the case in much of my life. I can sing my lungs out doing the dishes but I’d likely get laughed out of an American Idol audition. My cooking keeps my family alive, but it won’t land me in the Master Chef kitchen. As for looks, I get by, but I don’t turn heads. Even my name is average. There’s 1,423,950 of me in the U.S. and I’m sure that number multiplies exponentially in Jens, Jennys, Jennas and Jennifers around the world.

I’m okay with average in some areas of life. It’s not like I really wanted to be a fashion designer, anyhow. But I do want to go beyond average in the way I live, the way I love, the way I serve and the way I write. I want to live with purpose, love without reservation, serve with excellence and write with passion. I want to use the average I’ve been given to do something that makes an extraordinary difference. Something beyond…average.

“For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH—and this is not from yourselves, it is the GIFT of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do GOOD works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:8-10)