Yesterday, today, and tomorrow…learning to create an intentional life (Part One)

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow…learning to create an intentional life.

I scribbled these words on the back of a church program I found in the bottom of my purse as I sat in the passenger seat next to my husband, Mark. We were driving to his father’s house for what could be our last hello and good-bye to Mark’s step-mom.

Yesterday, we visited Mark’s mom at her retirement home. She is 87 years old, facing the reality of dementia. It has been a year since she remembered my name.

This past week my co-worker and friend, Brent Colby gave a devotional during our team meeting about “Leaving a Legacy”. He had us fill out a bubble graph of our expected life span. (Each bubble represents one week.)We were instructed to mark the significant dates we had experienced in our lives thus far.  For example, meeting Jesus, marriage, children, school, loss, professional accomplishments, were some that people wrote down. Then Brent had us fold the paper at our current age, revealing how many weeks we had left in the average life span. Some had more than others.

On mid-winter break in Mazatlan, we shared a Pulmonias (open-air-taxi) with a vibrant woman named, Myrna. Myrna and her husband had been living in Mazatlan six months out of each year since they had retired. Being a person of curious nature I asked about her experience. Where did they live in town? Where did they live in the States? How did they travel each year to Mexico? What did they love? What should we see? Where should we eat? Myrna told us of her favorite adventures and hot spots for eating but then she said something more. She told us that her and her husband Glen had always driven from the east coast to Mazatlan with the intention of seeing historical sites and natural parks along the way. They had made this drive for 20 years. In 20 years they had never stopped at any of the attraction they wanted to see. Not even one. Myrna said her husband was always in a hurry to get to Mexico, promising they would take the slow road on the way home. But then when it was time to return home, her husband was anxious to get back to work, promising that next year would be different. The story ended with Myrna’s regret of not being more intentional.  Their dream of seeing the sites across America would never be lived out together now that her husband Glen was terminally ill and needing 24 hour nursing care.

Obviously, God is the only one who knows the number of our days.

As I scribbled this blog on the back of my church program, I thought of my friend my Carmen at 45 and my Dad at 63 whose days were cut short.

I thought of my Grandmother, GG who told me for years she wanted to go to New Zealand to visit a pen pal, but never got the chance.

I heard God beckoning me to live today with intention.

Do you?

Lord, Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

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Next week, we will tackle the things that keep us from creating an intentional life.

I hope you will join me and invite a friend.

Here are a few of the things I am thinking we should talk about:

• Letting go of the past
• Forgiveness
• Identity- low self-concept (The ideas that I am not good enough)
• Busyness (The illusion that we are accomplishing something)
• Lack of goal setting (direction)
• Fear of failure & rejection
• Intimate relationship with the God and others