Truly Live

 

My favorite house in the neighborhood just keeps finding new ways to be cool. First, the big chicken. Then the colorful Aloe plant. Now a purple cactus. This place never offers an ordinary day; a sense of joy and playfulness draws in all who pass by..

I have known some people like that across the years. They live in such a way that they make each day a joy. They make life, well, fun. Regardless of age, they approach life with a childlike quality. They are playful and inquisitive and open to wonder. They draw others into their way of life.

What a gift such people are to this broken world! Like a purple cactus, they stand out from the crowd. They are both in the moment and excited about the future. I have a hunch that it is to such as these that the hopeful future belongs.

When I was a young pastor serving at a downtown church, one day I took my lunch break and walked down the street to a men’s store that was going out of business. They were having a big clearance sale, you know, a “Going out of Business! Everything must go!” kind of sale. Who knows? Maybe I could afford s new suit.

I’ll never forget walking among the racks when I bumped into a parishioner. He was an old man, literally. I asked him what he was doing, and I’ll never forget his response. “It is my 98th birthday today. I’m buying two new suits.” I suppose he saw my bewildered look because he grinned and said, “Son, I might be old, but I’ve got plans. I have things to do and places to go this year. I want to look good.”

I knew right then what kind of young man I wanted to be so that I would have the chance to be an old man like him. I wanted that attitude. I wanted that outlook on life. I wanted to truly live. Looking back, I think that old man could have well had a purple cactus

somewhere in his landscaping.

Paul writes to the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Peace.