19 Days until Easter

19 Days until Easter

We woke up early.  As kids, we didn’t normally  roll out of bed that easily, but we were sure to jump straight out of bed that morning (and when I say jump out of bed, I mean literally--bed jumping was one of our greatest talents as kids)!  And all three of us (me and my brothers, Scotty and John) put on our bright orange Jim Allen Jaguar t-shirts with urgency and a wee bit of excitement.  It was our first trip to Disney World!!  And I knew the first thing I wanted to do.  Space Mountain!  As we walked into the park, I could see the glorious white space-age building that was indeed shaped like a space mountain.  As we stood in line to get into the building, I could see through the doors.  It was dark in there.  Like space.  My little heart pounded with joy.  I was finally going to ride the greatest roller coaster in the universe!  As we walked through, I was greeted as a passenger by some lady over the intercom that was surely from outer space.  I could picture her in her silver space suit.  My entire way through the line was accompanied by techno music and views into the black light versions of space (which were way cooler than I ever imagined!).  Then we finally made it to the spaceship.  I knew that my journey would be short, but I wanted to relish every second!  I made up my mind sitting on my spaceship and holding the metal bar across my lap that I would remember it forever.  What a ride it was!  The tunnel of lights and then-- COMPLETE DARKNESS!  Clankity clank , clankity clank and a jerk!  Up I went into the darkness of space.  And then the clanking stopped and I knew what that meant.  Down I went!  It was as awesome as I had expected.  With every drop and every turn I’d soak up the elation because I knew that with every passing curve of the roller coaster, I was one step closer to the end.

It’s a good way to be, enjoying every moment with intent.  It’s really the way we should live out life.  Relishing every moment, knowing that this life is temporary.  

    “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” - Psalm 144:4

When I was a teenager I was one strong girl.  I mean, I don’t like to gloat, but I could beat most boys in an arm wrestling match.  I was fast too.  I could beat a lot of boys in a short distance foot race (OK, I might have enjoyed bragging about that a tad bit too much).  I loved being a sturdy base throughout my middle school and high school years as a cheerleader.  And even through college and into my first few years as a teacher I continued working out and tumbling.  My first few years teaching at Montclair Elementary, as a reward, I’d let my students decide whether they would like me to do a handstand or back handsprings for however many points they had in reading.  So if they had 10 points, they’d get to choose between a 10 second handstand as I walked on my hands between their desks or going outside to do 10 back handsprings.  I remember when I moved to Jacksonville and I was setting up my classroom at Normandy Elementary.  My principal walked in and saw that someone had moved the big teacher desk from the storage room into my classroom and he was surprised by it.  “Hey, they moved your desk in here without me even having ask!”.  Nope.  I had moved it myself and he could not believe it.  That was June.  By November, I could hardly lift a child’s bookbag without my bones crying out.  I remember looking in the mirror the last day before Thanksgiving break as I tied my brown bandana around my bald head.  I noticed how my elbows stuck out like little points.  And where did my biceps go?  Now it just looked like I had stretched skin around two bones and attached them to my body as arms.  It was a realization.  The reflection in the mirror hit me with a powerful punch. Even the strongest things on earth can crumble. This life is temporary. 

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” -James 4:14

It was just a few days before His death when Jesus was teaching about what’s really important in life.  He talks about how misguided the scribes and Pharisees have become in their priorities.  In everything they do, they do it for their own glory.  They love for others to see their deeds and marvel at their greatness.  He shoots them straight, flat out calling them hypocrites and a brood of vipers.  He lets them know that they’ve lost sight of what really matters.  And knowing that every breath left on earth is precious, His words hit them with a powerful punch.  When they’ve had the opportunity to be just or show mercy or have faith, they’ve squandered those opportunities by puffing themselves up and filling themselves with hypocrisy and lawlessness.  It was a real let’s-put-things-into-perspective, let’s open-our-eyes-to-the-truth moment.  Now, I’m not going to lie.  This next part of scripture baffles me.  As Jesus and the disciples leave the temple after this explosion-of-truth teaching, the disciples didn’t take that moment to reflect on the words that were just so powerfully spoken.  Nope.  They take that moment to marvel at how grandiose the buildings of the temple are.  Leave it to us humans to take such a monumental moment and waste it!  

What were the disciples all googly-eyed over? The temple structure was truly magnificent and quite the sight to behold.  I was one of the ancient wonders of the world.  The architecture was beyond brilliant and the construction was quite impressive. Built with marble and adorned with gold, it was stunning and majestic. And it was sturdy! Made of the most massive stones in all the land.

While the disciples are gawking at the temple, Jesus walks away saying, “You see all these, do you not?  I tell all of you with certainty,  there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another.  They will all be torn down.” -Matthew 24:2 

He lets them know that even though this temple is grand, it's temporary. Jesus goes on to describe the crazy world that we live in.  Just like the temple is temporary, so is this life.  And here’s the focus; in this crazy world, live intentionally, with a persevering faith and live with endurance.  I don’t know how long I have on this earth, but I do know how I’m supposed to live with what I have left.  For so many, they want success and wealth and recognition to feel like they are living this life to the fullest.  There will be an end to the ride, that is for sure.  So I’ll make sure that I live out this ride with great purpose. I'll know God and make Him known. I'll love others and make His love known. Winnie the Pooh asked Christopher Robin, "What day is it?". Christopher responded, "It's today", which Pooh reply's with joy, "Oh great. Today is my favorite day". I'll make sure that I intentionally make today my favorite day, living it the way God intended.