Tonight is turning into another one of those mind and heart check nights. One of those nights where I can’t keep my mind from wondering into “big picture” land. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m now officially in my thirties, so I just can’t seem to help myself from going there.
Anyway, what tripped it tonight was two things. Andrew Peterson & the violent death of a former high school classmate.
Every time I see or listen to AP I quickly regain my focus on what really matters in the grand scheme of things. God, family, friends and then everything else (including my businesses and anything else that I might have my hands in at any given moment). That’s a good thing except for the fact that I’m always eagerly (and impatiently) looking forward to the next chapter and potentially miss out on some memorable moments of the current one.
Then the violent death of someone I once knew just compounds that by making me see my own mortality through the example of their life. Even though this wasn’t someone I knew real well, it was someone that I had spent hours working side-by-side with while we were interns one summer (not to mention being classmates for four years). While I don’t know all of the details, the main detail is the one that concerns me the most. Death.
I don’t care who you are or what your relationship is to the person, if you have any sense at all that is going to get the wheels turning upstairs and you’ll begin to ponder “what if today is my last?” and all of the questions that follow that. And frankly, I don’t want to have to answer that one right now…I’ve got a good forty plus years ahead of me, right? As proven by this latest tragic event, that answer is clear. No, not necessarily.
Anyway, I’ve not formulated many organized thoughts beyond that just yet. But rest assured, God has my attention and I intend to savor every bit of this life he has blessed me with.