On these Wednesday posts we’ve been talking about going where you want to go. We’ve looked at your
flight path for life
,
the
search for significance
,
God’s will for our lives,
among other subjects related to life purpose.
Some of the saddest words you’ll ever hear are, “what might have been.” Speaker Vicki Hitzges puts it in a unique and different way when she asks: “Will you look back on life and say, ‘I wish I had’ or ‘I’m glad I did.’”
To wrap up this series, I’d like to share a story from Tony Campolo’s book, “Who Switched the Pricetags.” Tony relates the words of a black Baptist pastor speaking to a group of college students in his congregation. “Children,” he said, “you’re going to die!...One of these days, they’re going to take you out to the cemetery, drop you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face, and go back to the church and eat potato salad.”
“When you were born,” he continued, “You alone were crying and everybody else was happy. The important question I want to ask is this: “When you die are you alone going to be happy, leaving everybody else crying? The answer depends on whether you live to gain titles or testimonies. When they lay you in the grave, are people going to stand reciting the fancy titles you earned, or are they going to stand around giving testimonies of the good things you did for them? Will you leave behind just a newspaper column telling people how important you were, or will you leave crying people who give testimonies of how they’ve lost the best friend they ever had?”
Bob Buford once said, “Who will attend your funeral without looking at his watch?” I believe that will ultimately be determined by your vision in life—whether or not you lived for titles or testimonies. Determine your future and legacy by choosing to serve. Align your values with your picture of the future and set goals to get you there. Go where you want to go!