"When the Sand Runs Out"

"When the Sand Runs Out" is a song I heard yesterday from the Rascal Flatts' album, "Feels Like Today." I was tooling down the road, heading to an appointment with a client with my Zune up at almost full volume (which is not very loud by the way). I remember thinking about the many things that have occupied my mind over the past few weeks... my good friend's untimely death, my cousin's stepson's tragic death only a day later, hosting my wife's extended family from Ohio, my upcoming Sunday group lesson titled, 'Living with Dying,' and my business strategy for this visit with my client (occasionally when I'm working I also think about work). Then this song by Rascal Flatts comes on and I thought that isn't it funny how death puts a unique perspective on life?


I don't think I've ever heard the song before, but the first line grabbed my attention right away. It goes, "I spent the morning at an old friend's grave; Flowers and Amazing Grace, he was a good man..." Immediately I thought of my good friend, Kevin. Kevin died on 7/6/08 unexpectedly in his sleep. He had spent the last year or so climbing his way out of a particularly low point in his life and then died suddenly one Sunday afternoon while taking a nap. He was 47.


My attention focused back on the song. What would I do differently today if I knew how much sand I had left in the hourglass that is my life? Would my perspective change a little or a lot?


The fact is that none of us know exactly how long we have on this earth. Life is truly a gift and I question sometimes how thankful I truly am that God has blessed me with this day. When I think about Kevin or my cousin who lost his stepson to a lightning strike on 7/7/08, I refocus my perspective and I feel like I live the kind of life God intended. But there are other days when the little things like traffic jams get to me, I'm quick to anger, and overall feel like I'm living a mundane existence. How can I ensure that I live a rich and full life every day?


When former NCSU basketball coach, Jim Valvano, was diagnosed with cancer, he gave many motivational speeches related to the fight against this dreaded disease. A disease that would ultimately take his life. He believed there are three things that you should do every day. He said, "Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.”



The chorus for the Flatts' song is...

"I'm gonna stop lookin' back and start movin' on

Learn how to face my fears

Love with all of my heart, make my mark

I wanna leave something here

Go out on a ledge, with out any net

That's what I'm gonna be about

Yeah I wanna be runnin'

When the sand runs out"

I agree with the saying, 'Life's a journey, not a destination.' But that doesn't keep us from living like there's no tomorrow.