Day 13: February 2nd

Day 5 was January 25th….Today is February 2nd… so that makes today’s post Day 13.

I missed 8 days of writing.  That is borderline flunking this project (if it isn’t flunking already..).

Over my 8 day absence, I have been reading, listening to sermons, watching people, and examining myself.  All these things have brought me to this conclusion: I have to live life committed to people.  Not committed in the ball-and-chain sense, or the keeping-promises way.  I mean committed in a constant outpouring way.  Because that is a lot harder, and nothing worth having is easy.  But having what?  Since when is giving, having? 

It is having love.

It is being more concerned with the lives and daily workings of others.  Psychologists even agree living selflessly is healthier.  They say when people hit their mid-life crisis, they either grow out or sink in.  Grow out into other people, and helping them.  Or sink into themselves, and rot. 

Why wait until I’m old, fat, and less capable?

There are hundreds of verses (literally) I could type out to show the biblical reason for selflessness.  They would all point you back to the Cross.  How one man died, bearing the guilt of many.  How He died for people who hated Him, and set them free. 

But I am going to conclude with a quote instead.  Not because I think it more important, or a better reason (there is nothing more true than scripture), but because it is short and beautiful, and reading it is what brought all these things (sermons, literature, observations, people, verses) together.

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness, For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people, For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry, For Beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day, For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.
— Audrey Hepburn