I listened to a man responding to the interviewer’s questions. As I stripped the textures and colors of his story away, the plot line was pretty clear. This was a man who had lived large for most of his life. In his success, he looked back as he answered the questions with candor, transparency, and frank honesty. A listener could sense his awareness of the people he had hurt along the way, including himself. Without bitterness or rancor, he spoke of his desire to do things differently going forward.
“Do you regret your life?”
“No. I am glad that I had the opportunity to live, really live. I would not do it over again.”
Years ago, one writer accused Divinity of stealing the best years from one of my hero’s life. The writer’s words were blunt and direct; “You took the best years of his life and left him an impotent, ruined husk.” (Psalm 89.45) From my perspective I wonder.
As I wrestle with the day ahead, I can hear a whisper reminding me of the following.
We are live in moments of hell and beauty. Many are a direct result of our choices. The good and the bad are struck by evil in many forms. Life is not all about chocolates.
Our story, the quality of our lives, is told in our response to the moments we have. My hero lives a life where Divinity went on to remark that “he was a man after my own heart.” Depending on one’s perspective, his life was a husk or a one invite to join divinity’s circle.
In the chaos of trying to live, we will be overwhelmed and consumed by forces beyond our control. At times the darkness will threatened to take our spirit and will to live. In these moments and in the easier ones, hope and beauty live on. When we catch a glance of either, when we will be touched and we will be transformed.
Even with failures, I am thankful for the opportunity to live a life of compassion, caring, and possibilities.
