Live with Urgency: People’s Lives Depend On It

In recent months, I have written little. Two very dear friends have passed unexpectedly. In one case, the friend was at his father-in-law’s home and just passed. The other friend has suffered numerous health issues for her entire life. She had so many, she simply did not tell me every time she had a surgery. The years go on and the losses pile up. They can be paralyzing.

Other things can be paralyzing too.

In recent years I have been plagued with a lot of unnecessary drama created by someone I hardly know, have not seen, and who needs either a medical of relational issue over which to create drama. It is a coping mechanism to keep from having to deal with the underlying problems that should have treated with loving kindness but were overlooked in the stir that was created. This would not be ironic were the “stirrer” not someone who often repeated the pattern. As a highly functioning person with a complex injury, I do not belittle the realities of physical issues. I do question why we so often treat the symptoms and lovingly overlook the disease. That’s not really loving, it’s just easier.

If you are on the receiving end of loss, or drama, or simply very noisy streets and a lot of bureaucracy, you are still facing the great enemy: distraction from the urgent. What is urgent? Souls. The lives of the people around us are of urgent need of our thoughtful attentive efforts to reach them. One friend, mentioned above, knew her days were numbered. The other had no idea he would climb the stairs for the last time that day when he woke up that morning. The same can be said of any of us. The same can be said of our neighbors.

Personally, I confess to giving into distraction. It has worn me down. I feel like someone playing basketball in the para-Olympics and someone 6′ 8″ is jumping up and down in front of me blocking my shot. The frustrating part is they are wearing the same team jersey I am. I cannot take the shot and I will not foul them. But the time that is wasted is precious. I never get those days, those moments, or those heartbeats back. I could have been sharing Jesus, but I allowed myself to be distracted by what, in all honesty, was a very, very distracting ruse.

I saw a statistic the other day that says I have about 10 years and 3 months to live. I want to use that time with urgency. I want to be urgent about the lady at the small neighborhood store with high blood pressure. I want to be urgent with the couple in the building behind me who I first met when the wife wandered into our building, overwhelmed by grief, looking for my neighbor who passed unexpectedly. I want to invest what I have, and not try to invest what I cannot, into doing things that will share a hope that will not fade.

The times are urgent. The times are always urgent. Every generation is the last and we never know how long that time will be. Let’s live accordingly.