End Game
How do you want to die?
Maybe a better way to put it is, how do you want to be living in those final hours before death?
Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. - Deuteronomy 34:7
Moses seemed to be doing quite well in those last days, not at all what I would expect from someone who is 120 years old.
Part of me would love to live that long, if I could be in good health and still be active. But it is a long time, isn't it?
Could I afford to live another 60 years?
Why is death one of those things we just don't want to think about? Is it less frightening to ignore it?
Every other major event in my life would be planned, anticipated, talked about, but not this. We don't even like to think about the passing of a loved one. And we face those last days with sadness and remorse, despite our belief that it is a joyous return home.
Regardless of what I believe will happen after this life, the idea of approaching the inevitable without planning for or at least thinking about it is absurd, don't you think?
By planning, I don't mean sitting down and picking the hymns and readings for our funeral. While that needs to be done, that is only a small part of what could be and should be a much more important and meaningful plan. We need an end game.
Chances are, we are not going to go like Moses, responsible for guiding a people to a new land up to the last moments on earth, working with purpose to the end. We might need to be doing something that can help us pay the bills, or at least have something set aside so we are not a burden to others, but our fond farewell may not be as monumental as his.
So what is our end game?
How will we be playing out those final years, months, days?
Another way to ask that is, how am I doing it now?
Am I prepared for what may be just around the corner? Have I given any serious thought to what I might not have time to say or do, what I would be leaving undone for those I love to sort through and toss aside?
Everything that is so important in my daily routine is meaningless without me in the picture to do it, with one exception, those things I do for others.
The books, the stories, the paintings, the photos, the videos, the footprints in the sand are all nothing compared to the memories I leave behind in the minds and hearts of those I touch while I am here. That is the true eternal life, the gift of love that lives on after me, and manifests itself in others who then touch many more than I could ever know.
So, perhaps I should start thinking of this as end game time, the time when I should be picking and choosing the moments carefully, rather than squander them.
It is a struggle, I know, to set aside something that seems so critical today for something I think I can do any time, but that's the rub. Any time isn't mine to barter away. Any time may not come.
Well, I need to wrap this up and get on with it, then.
More to come...
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