February 13, 2018
Gold, silver, and bronze. The world watches as athletes compete. We cheer on our own, and tally up the medal totals for our country. Winners are interviewed, all smiles, while the also-rans quietly head home to their families. With few exceptions, those we fete today will be forgotten tomorrow. The medals will hang on walls, be displayed in trophy cases, or perhaps lie forgotten in a drawer or box.
The writer of the Ecclesiastes had known the pinnacle of success and the heartbreak of failure, and at the end of it all, declared our endless striving to be vanity and a striving after the wind. Most of us have experienced this disappointment, this ennui, and most attempt to fill the emptiness with simply more of that which hasn’t yet satisfied. The Rolling Stones spoke for us all when Mick Jagger screamed, “Can’t get no satisfaction!”
The older I get, the less willing I am to waste time on that which is unimportant, and I am unfortunately finding more and more in life which fits that description. There are fewer miles ahead of me than behind me, and I want to make the most of them, which is why conversations with those I love and respect have become so important to me. Being able to talk about the meaning of life, about the experiences that reveal the handiwork of God; to be able to see with someone else the sacred and holy in the midst of the ordinary and profane, is a tremendous gift. All of which is why I am thankful tonight for the time today that I was able to spend...no,...invest, with my friend George. We both have fewer days ahead than behind us, and have come to treasure what is truly important. To treasure those things together is a rare and wonderful privilege.
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