A Kick the Bucket List

One of my favorite lines in the movie, “Bucket List” is when Jack Nicholas looks in the mirror and he is going through vomiting from chemotherapy, he was given six months to live at the most, and he says, “Some lucky guy got the heart attack.” 

Only the actor Jack Nicolas to me is a person who can pull that line off.  It’s making light of a tragic situation.  It’s saying, “I did not ask to be in this situation.”

It’s when a tragedy happens in our life and it steals our innocence.  There is a difference from tragedy and trials/hardships.  A woman explained that to me where her son was molested by a family friend they trusted.  

 

Then there was a person who she thought was a shepherd in her life, but started condemning her and making her feel guilty that she had brought this calamity on herself.   She realized later he was a wolf.

Job called his friends miserable comforters, but the Lord lead Job to pray for his friends, because they were only citing their religious error of the time which is calamity comes in our lives due to sin in our lives.

We have the example of when David and all his men lost their wives, children and possessions.  At first they cried and cried and then they wanted to kill David.  David encouraged himself in the Lord and then he took the men that were strong enough to go with him to take back what the enemy had stolen from him. 

Abraham too when he rescued his nephew Lot and his family.  In fact, because of Abraham, Lot’s life was saved twice.  God told Abraham to leave his house so Lot ended up coming along.

There is also this one part in the movie that the main character Carter played by Morgan Freeman says, “When you go to heaven can you say that you lived your life in joy, and that you brought joy to others?”

I can’t think of anything better than bringing  joy to others in life.  It’s like “Make a Wish Foundation” that bring joy to children who are terminally ill.  I think it’s wonderful to have a customer or a person say to me, “You made my day today.”

My former spouse said that I brought joy to his heart after the trauma of losing a son and his college sweetheart - going through a divorce. He squeezed every bit of fun out of life from sun up to sun down.  He lived his life with passion knowing his chronic asthma could make his life short.

Many people need their souls restored in life due to trauma.  When I first became a Christian I prayed that scripture Psalm 23 -- the Lord restores my soul because of a breakup of my son's father and me.  Same prayer when I went through a divorce. 

It tells us in God's word in John "Beloved I wish you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers." So it seems that our soul prospering affects our financial and physical well being. 

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2

I can say right now that "It is well with my soul."  It may not always be well with my flesh and far as I'm not in a marriage relationship like I wanted to be with my spouse, and it's not well with my circumstances as far as I went from a two-person income and now I'm down to zero, but it's well with my soul.

When I worked at IUPUI (university), there was a former faculty person like that who had such a bright sense of humor when I first started there – there were many days she made my day.  Her name was Mary Ellen Reed, she passed away from cancer a few years ago.

Another faculty person who made my day right after my husband passed away was my computer graphic professor Dan Baldwin.  His corny jokes actually made me feel better going to class 2 l/2 weeks after I lost my spouse. 

 

Laughter has been one of the best medicines I’ve had.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  Proverbs 17:22

I remember watching a lot of comedy with my parents.  Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Carol Burnett, Laugh-in, W.C. Fields, The Little Rascals, The Three Stooges, and I Love Lucy.  I always liked slap stick comedy and read the cartoon section in the Indianapolis Star as a child. 

I think it’s interesting because I had just rededicated my life to Christ as far as seeking a closer walk with God by sharing my faith more when I lost my spouse three months later.  It was like a slap in the face and rather discouraging, but I did not let a tragic situation in my life take me away from sharing my faith.

The Lord told me he has me on a detour road since I lost my husband so I’m seeking him for what he has called me to do.  What was neat about being married to my husband is that he encouraged me to follow my dreams to finish my degree in college and ministries for the Lord I wanted to get involved in which was a teen prison ministry.  He bought me a amplifier and electrified my guitar for my music ministry.

When Paul said that it’s better to be single to serve the Lord since it’s without distraction, it can be better unless we have a person who understands us serving God. 

When God called people out it was usually like Moses wanted Aaron and far as Paul and Barnabas were called out together as a team for the gospel.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them." Acts 13:2

Faith is trusting God even when we don’t understand all the answers to those “why” questions.  Why did this tragedy happen to me? 

It tells us that the life we live, live by the faith of the son of God who loved us, and gave his life for us.

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

I started working on a kick the bucket list six years old as far as I jumped the highest bungy jump in the world in Queenstown, New Zealand in  2009 which I always wanted to bungy jump, and I learned to scuba diving so I could dive at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia when two of my adult children lived there for three years.

There also have been several single ministries I have been involved with as far as feeding the homeless, leading worship for singles and hosting single socials at my house.  I’ve been living my life now like these are my last days. The minister Kerry Shook said that when we are ready to die, than we are truly ready to live.