Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping....

Every since I was little, I've been hearing about how I need to plan for the future. "You need to have goals", or "you need to do things while you're still young". I eventually learned to tune the voices out and keep on keeping on. I mean, I have goals. I know what I want to do with my life. And what does everyone mean "while you're young". I've got time.

More recently I've been working a lot more. I've been going to school and dealing with multiple jobs and programs and responsibilities. Seldom do I sit at home to eat, and even when I do it feels rushed. God is working in my life and given me so much, but I'm exhausted. Everything I do is focused toward the next place I need to be or the next step I want to take, and I seldom live in the moment I inhabit.

So I've made a decision. Jesus says in John 10:10, "I came that thy might have life and live it more abundantly". I want to live these words as best I can. So what have I done? I've racked my brain and made myself a bucket list, and here are some selections:

• Scuba dive in the great barrier reef
• Go to the Holy Land
• Serve as a missionary in rural Africa
• See a whale up close
• Record a CD
• Write a novel
• Become a youth minister
• Graduate from George Mason University
• Become fluent in American Sign Language 
• Etc, Etc, Etc.....

I think all Catholics should have a bucket list. It represents an intention to do more with our lives than just survive the daily grind. A bucket list is a promise to yourself that you will have something extraordinary to look back on when you're old.

Make sure that everything you list is something that you have some sort of control over. For example, I left out anything about my vocation. That's something that I submit to God. But I can write. I can travel. I can study. Also, be specific. Don't just travel. Travel to a location. Don't just learn a language. Lean a specific language. Once you've written the list commit to it! Set a goal for each item that says by what age you'll complete each thing. Stick to you're convictions and I promise that you will have life experience that truly exemplify what it means to seize the day and live life to the fullest

May the Lord, or God, bless us
St Joseph, model of manliness, pray for us