Photo by anitacanita

My family is going through a transition and this summer will prove to be an eventful one.  My 5 year old daughter is having surgery in July to fix a kidney reflux problem.  A few weeks ago, we found out that we will not be going back to Japan as expected, so we are now looking for work.  Most of our belongings are in storage in a warehouse in Japan, so we are trying to figure out a way to get at least some of that stuff back here.  We need to move out of this place we are renting at the end of July because it has been sold.  And, yesterday, I was supposed to donate a kidney to my wife’s brother.  But, it didn’t happen because less than two weeks ago, I found out that I have a heart condition called SVT and so the plans to donate a kidney were called off.  The heart condition I have can be fixed (I think the cardiologist said 80% success rate), so that is good news and I am just waiting for a phone call to let me know when my heart surgery will be.

The week before we found out that we would NOT be going back to Japan, I was asked to give a “charge” to a young family that was heading out to Peru for the summer and possibly in to full-time mission work overseas.  This little “speech” I gave has now taken on new meaning for me and as I read it now, I read it as if I am preaching to myself.

Scene:
Carter looks over and sees Edward reading the sheet of paper. Carter asks Edward, “What are you doing?” Edward wants to know what the list on the paper means, but Carter insists on Edward giving it back to him. Edward smiles and says, “It was on the floor. I didn’t know it was a state secret.”

Carter relaxes and explains that when he was in college his freshmen philosophy professor “assigned this exercise in forward thinking. He called it ‘the Bucket List.’ We were supposed to make a list of all of the things we wanted to do in our lives before we…” Edward, figuring it out, finishes the sentence, “kick the bucket. Cutesy.”

Carter explains the kind of things he had initially written on his list, “make a million dollars, the first black president, you know, young man’s wishes…”

Edward begins to read aloud from Carter’s new list, “Help a complete stranger for the good. Laugh until I cry. Not to be judgmental, but this is extremely weak.”

Carter is resigned to his fate, saying, “It’s pointless now.” But Edward says, “I would argue the complete opposite.”

Edward takes the sheet of paper and begins to write on it. When Carter asks what he is doing, Edward replies, “A little rewrite, that’s all.”

If you’ve seen this movie, then you are familiar with the story:

Edward Cole and Carter Chambers have almost nothing in common. Edward is rich, lives lavishly, and is alone. Carter is middle-class, lives simply, and is surrounded by a loving family. The one thing that Edward and Carter have in common is that they both are dying of terminal cancer. Instead of quietly fading away, the two men draw up a “bucket list” — a list of things they want to do before they kick the bucket.

So let me ask you, “Do you have a bucket list? What are some of the things on your list?”

I know you, and so I know that on the list will be some things you want to do, not for yourself, but for God before you die.

I want to encourage you to ask yourself a question that only you can answer. Why?  Why do you want to do the things you want to do?  Why do you want to start new churches and put energy into God’s kingdom?  Take some time to answer these questions.  No matter what you do or don’t do, you know that God loves you.  He will not love you more because you do great things or because you are a missionary or a pastor. God loves you now just as you are as much as He ever will.  And God does not care about what is on YOUR bucket list.  You may not get to do all the things on your bucket list even if they are things you want to do for God. God may not let you do them.  And then, how will you react?  How will you act when you cannot accomplish all that you want to accomplish?

If you don’t get to do all of the things on your list, is that OK?  What if you don’t end up doing any of the things on your list?  Will become a grumpy old man, will you become discouraged or disgruntled with God and dissatisfied with your life with a list of things that you are still trying to accomplish before your life ends?

It is good to have a bucket list.  What matters is how you react when God does not allow you to do some of the things on your list, even if they are things you want to do for Him.

In fact, you may not even get to do any of those things.

And this leads me to my word of advice: Remain faithful. Let me clarify what I mean by “faithful” by saying what I don’t mean.  I don’t mean your belief in God.  I don’t mean trusting in God for your salvation.  When I say to remain faithful, I mean faithful in the sense of being full of hope.  Hope in God.  Hope.  Hope that God is moving and working even when you don’t see it.  Hope because God is God and he is great!

Make that a priority that underlies all of your desires and work for God – to remain full of hope in God right to the end no matter what happens.   Unless you are the exception to the norm, your life will not happen exactly as you expected.  When that happens will you still remain hopeful?