Several years ago I saw the movie “JACK”
starring Robin Williams. It was about a little boy who had the rare
disease, PROGERIA, that causes premature aging in
people. Most people with the disease grow ‘old’ and die by age
20. In the movie, Robin Williams’ character, Jack, gives the
Valedictorian speech for his high school graduating class. As he
stands there, a grey-header ‘old’ man at the age of 18, he says
these words:
“I don't have very much time these days, so
I'll make it quick—like my life. You know, as we come to the end of
this phase of our life, we find ourselves trying to remember the
good times and trying to forget the bad times. And we find ourselves
thinking about the future. We start to worry, thinking, "What am I
gonna do? Where am I gonna be in ten years?
"But I say to you, 'Hey, look at me.’
Please, don't worry so much, 'cause in the end none of us have very
long on this earth. Life is fleeting. And if you're ever distressed,
cast your eyes to the summer sky, when the stars are strung across
the velvety night, and when a shooting star streaks through the
blackness turning night into day – make
a wish, think of me. And make your life spectacular.
"I know I did. I made it, Mom. I'm a
grown-up. Thank you.”
Most of us have been blessed with longer lives
than we expected and maybe, if we are honest, even longer than we
deserve. In my experience as a pastor and as I observe life all
around me I am amazed at those who spend so much time ‘worrying,’…
about almost everything. We worry about money, politics, the kids,
the grand kids, medical issues, the weather, our spouses, and so
on. Sometimes our health is even adversely affected by our tendency
to worry.
I grew up under the mentoring of two very
positive parents and seven positive older brothers and sisters. I
guess we had a good excuse to worry, since we were a poor family on
a 24-acre NE Texas farm. For my little-kid years we had no
electricity or running water. We got one pair of shoes a year, for
school, and got to town once a month in the back of an old pickup
truck. But, as I look back, I think the reason we didn’t worry about
being poor was that nobody told us we were poor or bemoaned the
fact that we were. I don’t ever remember worrying about
anything… I was a happy kid. Today there are sources everywhere
telling people they are being discriminated against if they don’t
have lots of the stuff that other people have. We seem to
have a society filled with people who feel entitled to the things
that they have not worked for. We have students who feel
entitled to receive FREE… everything. They are told to
worry because they don’t have enough of all of the niceties in
life or have been deprived of so much of the stuff they
want.
Jesus said, in MATTHEW Chapter 25, verses
25-27: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what
you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than
clothing?Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one
cubit to his stature?”
The Bureau of Standards says that a
100-foot-thick, dense fog, covering 4 city blocks, would condense
down to fill only one drinking glass with water. That is a picture
of how most of us perceive the things that worry us. Some experts
say that 40% of the things we worry about never even happen. They
say that 30% of what we worry about would be impossible to change
anyway. Twelve (12) percent of us worry needlessly about health
issues and about 10% of our worries are petty or miscellaneous. If
all of the experts are right, that leaves 8% of legitimate concerns
for us to attend to. Concentrating on those could almost eliminate
our legitimate concerns!
So, what are YOU worried about? I’m sure you
have heard the ‘well-used-saying:’ There are only two rules in
life. Rule #1 – Don’t
sweat the small stuff. Rule #2
– It’s ALL small stuff! While you
could make the case that Rule #2 may not be literally true…
you get the point. In OCS there were no classes on the proper way to
worry. However, we did learn to PLAN and PREPARE and EXECUTE the
plan. Which brings up the question: What is YOUR Plan for your life,
whatever is left of it? We were trained to make a positive impact in
our careers. That training should serve you well in the current
phase of your life. So, go execute your plan!
Max Holt, Class 02-67
Association Chaplain
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