Recently, I was enjoying a vanilla latte in a Cairo coffee shop with a couple dear friends while perusing photographs from the past few years. With it came old memories, laughter, and contemplation of the lessons learned along the way.
As I turn a quarter of century, (that's 25 my friends!) I realize the brevity of this life, yet how full and wonderful it is and has been. If “blessed” is defined by earthly terms, I am “blessed.” But I question that definition.
I am surrounded by the greatest friends and family any guy could ask for, spread out in nations around the globe. I'm fulfilling my dream of serving/loving children globally and investing into their futures. To me, it's not work; its my calling and a pure joy. I get to coach a sport I love to youth I love far more than the sport. Along the way, God has provided many snapshots of beauty/excitement...
From watching the sun rise over the majestic temples at Ankor Wat, diving face to face with the Great White Sharks in the cold waters of Gansbaii, skydiving over the metropolis of Atlanta, attending “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway in Manhattan, trekking through the Sahara, exploring the rain forests of Southeast Asia, kayaking midst the jagged rock faces of the Li Jin River in China, swimming the open water from Dakar to Goree Island, free diving wrecks off Bahamas’ coast, skiing the mountains of Northern Lebanon, visiting the seven churches of Asia in Turkey, viewing the Pyramids of Giza, bathing in the Dead Sea, gazing at the starry sky through a hole in an underwater cave at 30m depth at the bottom of the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea, climbing Sinai’s peak, scaling Half Dome in God’s backyard of Yosemite, admiring Da Vinci’s work in Milan at the Last Supper painting, jumping the world highest bridge bungee jump in the Bloukrans, looking out over Paris from the Eiffel Tower, mounting the step of Buckingham Palace, strolling the vineyards of South Africa, eating tarantulas in Cambodia's roadside markets, standing in awe before the 275 waterfalls merging into one at Foz D’Iguazu in Brazil, to the awesome waves crashing on the rock of Valetta’s coast during storms on Malta, cruising the Nile, witnessing Syria’s fortress at Crac de Chevalier, exploring Jordan’s rock masterpiece city of Petra, to gazing in wonder at the empty tomb in Jerusalem. Truly, I’ve seen and experienced much in my first 9131 days of life outside the womb. (yes, I counted leap years)
And yet…am I blessed in this? I would suggest this weighs little to none on the “blessed” life. In the Word of God, I find the “blessed” man described as one who "KNOWS His God!" “Blessed are you Simon bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you!” (Matthew 16:17) One who is poor in Spirit, who has the Lord for their Shepherd, who is a doer of the Word, who is pure in heart, who is a peacemaker, who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, who is meek, who is persecuted for righteousness’ sake, who believes in the One he has never seen. Blessed is the one whose hope goes beyond the grave. Thus, true "blessedness" depends not on economic status, culture, ethnicity,age, experience or caste.
Indeed, the blessedness from God’s perspective can be found in the trash dumps of Ezbit il Nakhl, in the communist nation of Burma, or the dusty villages of Pakistan. How much more "blessed" am I when holding a dying baby in my arms, born in the brothels and stricken with AIDS she didn’t induce. When treating the open wounds of a street child, ministering love to intensely impoverished kids trapped in the slums and sewers of Calcutta, recognizing a life well-lived as I stood over the coffin of my brother René who died saving fifty lives during the genocide of Rwanda, the privilege of baptizing a couple Pakistanis in their irrigation canal, playing with Burma’s children in remote mountain villages, pulling the worms out of the scalp of a young girl in Northern Syria, changing diapers in an orphanage in Garbage City, to simply loving a child trapped in the midst of violence, danger, abuse, and fear.
These are the highlights of life. This is where the rubber meets the road…where faith takes action. If pain is God’s megaphone to a world that desperately needs HIS message of love and forgiveness through Jesus, that is where I want to be...with them in it. To feel THEIR pain in order to share the hope within the crisis.
Indeed, the truly blessed life would be one where this world sees no longer see Nate. Rather, my hands would serve as Jesus. My mouth would speak His words of love and forgiveness. My thoughts, His. My eyes would see opportunity and potential and not simply reality. My lap would be a safe haven for those who need care and compassion. My feet would be a messenger for His love.
Whether I have only today or 25 more years, may this be my definition of "blessed."
Thanks for sharing life with me and KNOW I am honored to call you, "friend!"
