Forest Gump hit it on the head. “Life is like a box of chocolates.” Indeed it is, but maybe not for the reality that “You never know what you’re going to get” but rather because—you never know when it’s going to make you sick. You can just be chowing down on a delectable cream-filled, chocolate wonder that comes in a box one minute and in the next be holding your stomach in agony. As grim as it is, the “never knowing” means the bad has as much of a chance as coming your way as the good.
Life can be tough, but it is THE VALUABLE because you can’t tie a price tag onto it. It’s irreplacable. The “what ifs” sometimes out weigh the “what ares.” I know that I, with my human eyes, often have trouble seeing past circumstance and into the well of delight of life.
But give it all to me.
Give me the dew on the leaves as the sun fights its way into the morning sky. Give me open pastures that are big enough for me to get lost in. Give me waterfalls that push you back from themselves in their force. Give me late nights of looking into the stars and finding the soveriegnty of God there. Give me the joy on the face of a baby as it takes its first steps to its parents whose smiles seem to declare victory. Give me drives in the mountains. Give me the sting of ocean water in the eyes. Give me the summer nights of lying in a boat in the middle of a lake while watching the glory of meteor showers. Give me the tears in the eyes of someone who receives Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. Give me the shear agony and thrill of falling in love, where her beauty makes your pulse race and her heart makes you dream a bigger dream. Give me walks in the cool rain. Give me a sled and a steep hill in the snowy winter. Give me the feeling of being keeled over a toliet with the flu. Give me the feeling of being made fun of, and the feeling of a standing ovation. Give me the feeling of a broken heart. Give me the nervous tension of going on stage. Give me the pats on the back and the slaps in the face. Give me the feeling of being helpless, and the feeling of being helped.
“The Valuable” of exsistence is the very air we breathe. Frederick Buechner wrote, “Be alive this first and holy day because order has been created out of chaos, light out of dark, so you can see, touch, taste, and smell, and tell this day that you have never seen before because it has never been before.” Life: inexpressibly, irreplacable…it is the joy of exsistence. In the good, in the bad, and in the unknowing, it is the very passion of a Creator for us.