Their list had things they wanted to die before they \u201ckicked the bucket.\u201d\u00a0The term made its way into our vernacular and even today I hear people about \u201cPutting the things on my bucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem with bucket lists is that the deadline is death \u2013 and that\u2019s an uncertainty. Do you really know how long you have?<\/p>\n
- \n
![\"Bucket](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/580\/2015\/02\/3238810399_3536e6649d_b-1024x681.jpg\")
<\/a><\/dt>\n- Photo by Pete Prodoehl via Creative Commons<\/em><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
The big question<\/h1>\n
I come from a long line of Norwegians on one side and Jewish Poles on the other. Both sides are hardy with low blood pressure, clean living and good teeth. Most of \u00a0my relatives lived well into their 90\u2019s. But that\u2019s no guarantee. I could pass away in dozens of different dramatic deaths (I\u2019ll tell you about a few of my close calls sometime) or through a variety of maladies.<\/p>\n
But this human flesh is vulnerable and ultimately weak. I had a friend cut some carpet and the knife\u00a0 broke the skin on his leg and he ended up dying of a flesh-eating bacteria that was in the carpet. I had another friend simply not wake up one morning \u2013 no explanation.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I had a close friend who\u2019s mother came close to death at least a half dozen times, only to fight back for another six months of good living. You never know.<\/p>\n
Although I\u2019ve known\u00a0Rick Dawson<\/a>\u00a0for a decade know, I\u2019ve never met him. However we\u2019ve enjoyed a certain kinship though sharing of writings and notes. He loves CCM and is reflective about life in ways I share. \u00a0He\u2019s in recovery, a guitar playing grandpa, and a lover of God. Rick is a brilliant writer because he\u2019s simply honest. His Planned Peasanthood<\/a> blog is a constant source of joy and insight.<\/p>\n
RIck is a cancer survivor \u2013 but now it\u2019s back, picking off body parts at will.<\/p>\n
The \u201cC\u201d word is devastating to most any of us, but to someone who\u2019s beat the dragon back for so long, to hear that it\u2019s returned can be crushing. The fight is brutal and once it\u2019s sulked away, one would think it\u2019s forgotten about you.<\/p>\n
A knock on the door, and it\u2019s back, this time to stay.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a diagnosis, not a\u00a0destination<\/h1>\n
Rick wrote this upon hearing his diagnosis and being told that the end is likely near. \u201cCancer is a diagnosis, not a destination.\u201d\u00a0<\/span> Those are words I\u2019ll never forget.<\/p>\n
Thus, the problem with Bucket Lists. We think that to really experience things, we have to grasp everything this planet has to offer. So we eat to excess, slip into sensuality, travel without satisfaction, and buy with no regard. We act as if this is everything<\/em>.\u00a0 We mark them off, one by one. But in the end, all we have is an empty list \u2013 and an empty heart.<\/em><\/p>\n
C.S. Lewis in the Weight Of Glory put it best. \u201cWe are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
To Rick\u2014and every other person facing bad news\u2014I want you to stick around. I want to add you to my bucket list to spend just one more day, have one more conversation, make one more memory. But my desire is selfish.\u00a0 I\u2019m keeping you from the last item on your list \u2014 an audience with the creator.<\/p>\n
Show me how to walk toward the light. No shadows. No pain. No fear. No deceit. No shame. No curse. No grief. No sadness.<\/p>\n
And, no need for a bucket list.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Show me the way, friend.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I want to add you to my bucket list to spend just one more day, have one more conversation, make one more memory. But my desire is selfish. I\u2019m keeping you from the last item on your list — an audience with the creator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1053,1058,1483,1332,1352],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bucket-list","tag-cancer","tag-death","tag-the-bucket-list","tag-victory"],"yoast_head":"\n
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