gospel of the graveyard

As the old tale goes…

...the old gentleman with the gray beard and years of wisdom dripping from his soul… he huddled the young patrons around him, and when all was hushed, he whispered gently, “What is the most valuable land in all of the world?”

“It must be the untapped forests of the Amazon,” said one.  Another chimed in, “Oh no, it must be the oil fields of the Middle East.”  Another assured that it was certainly “Wall Street itself.”

The old man listened.  And paused. 

“You’re all wrong.”

“The most valuable land in all of the world is the graveyard.  Buried are unrealized dreams, unwritten novels, never-launched businesses, unreconciled relationships and everything else that people said, ‘I’ll get to this tomorrow.’”

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Sometimes my stomach quivers with anxiety over the fear of not accomplishing “enough.”  I’m afraid to die with unfished work. 

The ironic thing is… often that fear leads to sleepless nights and less productive days. 

Just this week, I’ve had about 3 anxiety attacks over “not doing enough.”

Which brings me to…

I can’t decide whether to write a, “Don’t leave your ideas and thoughts in the grave!” blog or a “Chill out, it’s cool, do what you can, and enjoy” blog.

The truth, as always, I’m sure, lies somewhere in the middle.

Somewhere between work and rest. 

Kind of like God the Creator. 

He made it.  Good.

Made it.  Good.

Made it.  Good.

Made it.  Very Good.

And then He chooses rest. 

I mean, we all know, God doesn’t need a nap or rest. 

His rest, as Tim Keller puts, was a way of “being satisfied.” 

Reflecting on the work you’ve accomplished and ‘smiling,’

That’s where we should end up.  Days of dreaming, of planning, of working hard.  And days of reflecting, admiring, and resting. 

The graveyard story is a good story but can be a paralyzing example.  God the Creator is a good story and an example to model, and that’s good news.

Doing what you can, is always good enough.