image from Sound Cloud
No, the title doesn’t reflect one of Clint Eastwood’s early films, rather James statement that our lives quickly disappear like a mist. Yes, last week had that passage, but let’s revisit one hidden gem. With the passing of each calendar year, I ponder this bit about mist more and more. Maybe you do as well. How do we balance making a spiritual impact on the world if we’re here so briefly, like fog?
I yearn
to share the permanence of mountain peaks
to stand proud
immovable
to provide shelter
for elk and junco
to have a name known to many
known long after I leave
But you say
I’m a momentary mist
not an abiding mount
little remembered as it fades
I struggle
not yet ready
to accept such a quick passage through time
So if I be a mist
may I be a magnificent one
giving grace to my era
God placed eternity in people’s heart: we yearn for significance, but how do we accomplish that in an average lifespan of 76? Frankly, very few of us become well known. Few write bestselling books. Few find heroism in war. And while genealogy sites provide our names to our descendants, for most of us, no one beyond our great grandchildren will either know our wisp of fog personally or recognize our names.
Yet arrogance and pride often rule our lives, and our best laid plans often go astray. And like the old play proclaims, “You Can’t Take It With You.”
Last week, after telling us to plan flexibly and to leave the results to God, James encouraged us, “You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing.” Not very encouraging, is it? But then he gives an option, “Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that’” (James 4:14-15, The Message).
Or, we find significance and impact in habitually thinking and saying, “God, do your stuff, and use me as you will.” As we do, we build a heavenly inheritance, we make the impact on life even if we remain unknown. I look forward to Peter’s promise, “In his great mercy he has given us…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Yes, we can be magnificent mists in God’s eyes.
Kick Starting the Application
How often do you intentionally say, “If God wills” as you plan? How well do you let God do his stuff in your life? How can you better live in his will for his mission?
PS if you like the poem, it’s found on pg. 13 among 83 others in Outdoor Adventures, Sacred Trails, available on Amazon or through me—signed.