What a Ride!!

Psalm 90:10 (ERV) - “We live about 70 years, or, if we are strong, 80 years. But most of them are filled with hard work and pain. Then, suddenly, the years are gone, and we fly away.”
     There is no time like the present to make the most of the life that God provides for us. We should not procrastinate about starting projects or completing tasks. The writer of this Psalm tells us that life with its ups and downs and its capacity to be briefly lengthened carries a definitive end date, therefore we should not waste even a single moment.
     In a few months I will celebrate my 40th graduation year from my undergraduate alma mater, Spelman College. Whew! It seems like just yesterday I was sending in my admissions application. As an impressionable teenager I thought I had all the time in the world and that ‘stuff’ just took too long to happen. Certain events, especially summer and Christmas vacations went on forever. But the older I have gotten the more I realize how quickly time does fly. We get involved in day-to-day activities and when we finally look up years have zoomed by.
     Many have spoken about the tragedy that our cemeteries are full of some of the most unique and potentially successful ideas that never took root. We should strive to drain the total essence from the life given to us. I am not sure who authored this next statement, but I thoroughly try to live by it: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming – WOW – What a ride!!”.
     Every day is a good day; it is up to us to make it a GREAT day. Be blessed! Rev. Dr. JoAnn