Life in Retrospect

There is not much in common between a 21 year old and an 84 year old. Especially when it comes to LIFE. To an 84 year old, life is viewed in retrospect. They talk about the good times, the simple years and easily share a plethora of memories. A 21 year old, is always talking about what’s to come, the next adventure, the next big thing. But in reality we are mirror images, the 84 year old was once 21, and the 21 year old will hopefully one day be 84. So what’s the point? Well... today I got the opportunity to have a wonderful conversation with my brilliant 84 year old grandfather. He is quite the character. A prankster by nature, the life of the party and an extremely determined man. But today he asked me a very serious question..."How would you rate your life?" He followed the question with..."It doesn't matter what it is, what matters is that you know you are loved. Because love is everything" I know his response might sound like a cliché, but my grandfather is not the lovey-dovey type. As he was speaking it hit me! He is living life in retrospect. He has 84 years to look back on, and it doesn't matter if they were good or bad. LOVE is what sticks out. LOVE is what made him strong and he wants me to know that. To be honest I don't think I will ever forget that conversation with him. The conversation that changed not only how I view my grandfather, but also how I view life. I hope that when I am 84 I can share the exact same thing with my grandchildren because I want to live a life, which is not measured by success or failure. I want to live a life measured in love.

                           

   My grandfather with the love of his life my grandmother. 59 years of marriage.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Life is like a ladder.

“Life is like a ladder. If you focus only on your destination you may fall off, but if you just take one step at a time you will get to the top.”

Lately I have started to look at life as a ladder; narrow with two options up or down. Up is the direction of choice and down is usually filled with regrets. But what about your surroundings? What do you see when you are higher up? If you take a look around you will see people that are always trying to get the next best thing, improve, get richer, or obtain fame. Don’t get me wrong improving is great, getting a better paying job never hurt and fame…well that might hurt a tad. But are we so focused on our destination that we are forgetting about the journey? When you climb a latter you are advised to not look up, you are better off facing straight, where the steps are in plain view and by doing so you have a greater chance of making it to the top in one piece. Well isn’t life the same way? If we focus just on the destination we can forget what’s going on around us. We should enjoy every season of life we are in, its one step closer to the top. No matter what season of life we are in God as a plan and a purpose for it. So we should enjoy it! Learn from it, and take the next step never losing heart. Knowing that one day we will arrive. As for me…I know I have been extremely focused on my goals(and that's not always a good thing) and there are a few. So this summer, not only will I preparing for my last year at Liberty University but I will sit back and take it all in, my college days are numbered and this season of my life will end in approximately a year, so its time to soak it all in. Live, grow and pray before I take another huge step in my ladder.

-Nataly