If I Live til I’m 75 by AChuckAllen
I had the privilege of preaching a funeral for a friend’s father Saturday afternoon. I was significantly moved by the grandkids describe their Papa. I was touched as my friend described his dad, and I was honored to have been the fortunate pastor to preach, not only this man’s memorial service but his wife’s memorial service, just a few months ago as well. These two people spent many of their last years not being able to communicate as we think about healthy conversation. Illness and aging had taken them hostage. As a result, I couldn’t help but imagine how awesome their conversation must’ve been on that first night that they were in Heaven together. How awesome!
Since that service, I have pondered the realization that both of my parents passed away at 75 years of age. If the Divine chooses to keep me around until I am 75, I have only 18 years of life on this planet.
That may seem a bit of a downer, but I am motivated by it! So much so that I created a list of the things that I truly want to accomplish in the next 18 years. I will strive to…
- Eat, exercise and work with greater determination to live until I am 85, not 75.
- Pray with more fervency and intentionality, without ceasing.
- Limit the hours that I give to ministry and work to 60 hours each week.
- Spend every moment pursuing my wife with a never-ending love.
- Spend more quality and purposeful time with my daughters.
- Be the greatest Pop on the planet to my grandchildren (this is a very big deal to me).
- Shepherd Sugar Hill Church with passion, focus, and intentionality as we serve more people, share the gospel with every person in our community, help every kid graduate from high school and end the curse of poverty in Sugar Hill.
- To create a transitional living community for single parents in the northern part of Gwinnett County.
- To write and publish at least one book each year.
- To become a much better friend.
- To be grateful each and every day for the overwhelming blessings of the Divine!
- To give away every dollar I can for the cause of Christ.
- To leave Sugar Hill Church debt-free, healthy and in the hands of leaders far more qualified and Christ-like than I am.
- To fish more, travel to the beach more and camp out more.
- Oh! and I really want to buy a motorcycle and ride it til I die!
Okay, so it’s a pretty significant list. But that’s the point! If I could do any or all of that list without the hand of the Divine, it wouldn’t be worth striving for. I would love to live a healthy life for about 30 more years, but my family history would beg to differ. I’m equally, and maybe more so, to celebrate walking on streets of gold as Christ calls me to my eternal home. Either way, I really want to leave a legacy of serving my family and my church like Christ has directed!
Don’t You?
-AChuck
