A Life Worth Living

"What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." - St. James 4:15

Lately, I have been lost in this adventure I call life. My mind and body have been so occupied by the tasks of daily living that I have neglected to take time for quiet reflection. I haven't even had the time to worry or stress, which, I guess, is a good thing. The truth is, I haven't given myself time to think.

I don't stress or worry about much, because that requires thinking. It's almost as though I've been on auto-pilot just going through the motions of life. If there is ever a free moment to relax, I quickly drift off into sleep to recharge for the next busy hours of the day. I've decided enough is enough. Although I am enjoying life; our new house perfectly suits our needs, I frequently enjoy the company of good friends and family, I love my job as a Kindergarten teacher, I find a desire to live my life with more intention and more attention.

That desire, no doubt, comes from God. As soon as He wants something of us, He sends us help. Today, I received that help in a book I was reading called, Anchor: God's Promises of Hope to Parents by James B. Stenson. The sentences I read in the first five minutes felt like they had the power to change my life. Now, interestingly, I have read this book before. I have even highlighted in yellow highlighter pen certain paragraphs that I wanted to remember. When I read those paragraphs now, however, they didn't mean a whole lot. I believe God gives us certain insight or inspirations exactly when we need them and what I needed years ago was different from what I need now. I wish to copy what it was I read and what I got from it so it will stick with me and help me to live a life worth living, because, as Socrates put it, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

"As we lift our eyes to the heavens on a clear, cloudless night, we see the swirl of stars God flung across the endless expanse of the universe. And if we have eyes illumined by faith, we can look on this divine array the way our Christian forebears have done for centuries: With faith's insight, we know that God set these sparkling gems against the black velvet of night to delight each of us, His beloved children, and to show us His splendid might and mystery.
You, with the eyes of a Christian parent, can perceive even deeper meaning. As you sweep your gaze across the heavens, let your mind thrill with this wondrous idea: Countless ages ago, before those stars took fire, God placed you - you, personally, by name - within His eternal plan. It was then that He called you to your divine life's mission.
God knew then, and knows now, everything about you: all the great and small events of your life, your childhood and upbringing, your gifts and flaws and sins, the destiny of your whole life throughout this slip of human history in which he placed you. He knew all those souls whose lives intertwine with your own, including your parents and friends, spouse and children, from the moment of your conception to the appointed hour of your passage to eternity.
St. James wondered at this mystery with these words to the early Christians: "...what is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (4:14) Every life, though brief and fleeting, has a destined part in God's eternal will."
 

 The highlighted sentences are what I find myself reflecting on tonight. Through every trial of my life, as well as every moment of true happiness, God was there. He gave me those moments, both good and bad, to shape the life He wanted me to live. From before the creation of the world, He knew what my faults would be and what gifts He wanted to give me. He knew exactly what people He would send into my life and at which moments, to influence me and I them in just the way He planned. There are no coincidences. I pray that I can approach each moment of my life with the awareness that whatever is going on, God destined for that event to occur...He destined that event before the creation of the stars!