Shelly didn’t know. I didn’t know. Nobody knew.
What if YOU knew it was YOUR last day?
Yesterday, I found myself thinking A LOT about legacy.
The wonderful legacy that Shelly left. The way she impacted others. The way she impacted me and the kids. The way she beautified the world on such a wonderful scale.
And I’m SO grateful and take comfort in the fact that she KNEW how I felt about her when she passed. There was no question:
But I’m the one left here. And I don’t know for how long. And you don’t either.
Here’s the question I found myself asking in my head a lot yesterday.
Am I procrastinating? Am I telling myself that I can always do it tomorrow?
But what if tomorrow never comes? What would I do if it were my last days?
How would I show up for my family, for my friends, in my relationship with God?
Would I go all in? Would I go to bed knowing that I gave it everything I had?
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder if they are waiting because we think we are promised tomorrow.
Are we waiting because we want to be comfortable today, so we put off the hard work until tomorrow?
What would be possible if we lived today like it was our last chance to make an impact? To tell someone how much we loved them, maybe to show them, maybe to BECOME the someone that God wants us to be. Maybe even – dare I say it – to achieve our full potential.
I once heard a story about an 18th-century Hasidic scholar called Zusya of Anipol.
Zusya was a renowned teacher who began to fear death. His followers asked, “Zusya, why are you afraid? You’ve lived a good life; surely God will grant you a great reward.”
Zusya replied…
“If God says to me, ‘Zusya, why were you not another Moses?’ I will say, ‘Because you didn’t give me the greatness of soul that you gave Moses.’ And if I stand before God and He says, ‘Zusya, why were you not another Solomon?’ I will say, ‘Because you didn’t give me the wisdom of Solomon.’ But, alas, what will I say if I stand before God and He says, ‘Zusya, why were you not Zusya? Why were you not the man I gave you the capacity to be?’
THAT… is what I fear.”
Here’s what I’m thinking. What is MY true potential? Am I living up to it? Will God ask me… “Kyle… why were you not Kyle?”
Personally, I don’t like that question. And I (and WE) can do something about that now if we choose.
And imagine… what might be the compounding effect of each of us showing up every day like it was our last day.
Living bigger. Living bolder. Living greater. Just going for it. Going ALL IN.
Here’s what I’ve determined. I CAN’T buy into the excuse that I can do it tomorrow.
I must be diligent, every day, in pursuing more.
I hope you’ll join me in pursuing more with everything we have every day, too.
And how wonderful is it that WE ALL HAVE THAT WITHIN US.
And if that’s the case. AND IT IS… is now the time for us to start acting like it?
You know, because you don’t know… and I don’t know…
Nobody really knows.
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