A few days ago, I asked Dave, “We talk a lot about how Carmen changed us. But, how did she change us?”
Dave replied, “When you stare death in the face, it stares back at you.”
(Dave busts out with great quotes on a regular basis.
)
Exactly. Carmen’s life gave us a real sense of how temporary and short our lives are. Even if I live to be 100 years old, that is such a short time compared to eternity. So, what am I doing to make a difference? What am I doing that really counts?
I am so inspired by Francis Chan right now. Francis was the pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA. This past April, he resigned. He and his wife sold their house and are spending a few months in India with their four kids, helping the poor. Lisa, his wife, posts updates on their blog. Francis and Lisa have been an inspiration to me for a while: they give away 90% of their income, they give away his book royalties, and they lived (before they just sold) in a tract house in a down-and-out neighborhood.
None of that sounds particularly easy to me.
I fight the desire for my own comfort, ease and pleasure on a daily basis.
I’m grateful to Carmen for making me realize that I should fight the desire to make my whole life about my own comfort, ease and pleasure.
So, what are we going to do now? We don’t know. We keep plugging away, getting ourselves ready to go and do whatever God has next for us. And we keep praying that God will make us willing and ready for His best.
My favorite song lyrics right now come from Hillsong’s Hosanna.
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
