Don’t Live Your Life in a “Leftover World”
There was a comic strip cartoon of a man and his wife in a new car show room. There was a year-end sale taking place. The husband was sitting in a chair looking a little tired and grumpy. Above him on the wall hangs a sign that says, “Leftover model”.
Do you feel like a leftover model as we end 2022 and begin 2023?
As we look back on this past year, we can focus on all the negative. This can make us feel like a leftover model. Or we can choose to look forward to the opportunities and possibilities of this new year.
It’s normal to have things left undone at the end of the year. The thing to remember is that we are the ones who choose what we wanted to get done. We get to choose what we will put on the “to do list” in this coming year as well.
We often read mystery books in our book club. Like all stories, they have a beginning and an end. What makes some better than others is what happens in the middle.
Life is like this. It has a beginning and an end. It’s the story we write in the middle that makes the difference.
Here is The Dash, a poem written by Linda Ellis, that speaks to this point.
I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own —
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering this special dash
might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?
As the new year begins, a lot of people will be taking down their Christmas decorations and moving on to the next thing. We shouldn’t be in such a rush to leave Christmas behind. Christmas is the celebration of God coming to us as a human.
Jesus is called Emmanuel. Translated, this means God with us. He is not only with us for a few weeks at Christmas time. He is with us all year long.
Don’t live your life like it’s a leftover but be intentional and choose to live it to the fullest.
Remember to write your story well and include Jesus in it every day.
Write a great story in 2023!