SA television talk show was hosting a forum to discuss the question, “When does life begin?” The panel consisted of a Catholic priest, a liberal theologian, and a Jewish Rabbi. The moderator asked the question of each of the guests in turn. The priest thoughtfully replied, “It has been the teaching of the great church since the days of Augustine that life begins at the moment of conception!” The moderator thanked him and asked the same question of the theologian.
“Just as Adam became a living being when he drew that first breath, so I believe life begins at the moment of birth when that little child fills his lungs with air!” Again the moderator thanked him and turned to the old Rabbi.
“Rabbi, when does life begin?”
“Well,” the Rabbi smiled thoughtfully and answered, “I always thought life begins when the dog dies, and the kids leave home.”
I’m not sure about that, but I believe Christians need to learn to live “in the now.” Don’t you remember being a kid and longing to be just a little bit older? “If only I was a teenager!” “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to drive a car!” “Soon I’ll be old enough to be on my own!” And then, as I got older, I looked forward to summer vacation, my wedding, the birth of a child: always looking to the future. Always wishing time would rush by. “When will it be time to go home?” “When will the weekend come?” What is it going to take to slow us down and teach us to live in the moment?
The other day we were stuck in traffic. People were losing their tempers. Someone raced down the shoulder of the freeway, and soon he was followed by a dozen other cars. Everyone had someplace to be, and they were in a hurry to get there. I was just about to give up and pull onto the shoulder too when Jan burst out excitedly. “Do you see that?” she cried. “Look at that osprey sitting on the lamppost!” It was a huge white and brown sea eagle watching the parade of cars below. We both strained forward to look up through the windshield. This magnificent bird cocked it’s head as raptors do and I would have sworn it winked and smiled at me before traffic picked up and we were on our way again.
I wonder how much of life I have missed in my hurry to be someplace else? Take a deep breath. Now let it out and let your God-given senses come alive and let’s learn to live!