You've heard the expression "be careful what you wish for...because you just might get it." Well, today I made a "be careful what you wish for" kind of remark that ended up stopping me in my tracks for a moment. It was something I said in jest, totally off-the-cuff, and as soon as I said it I thought "oh my gosh, what am I saying?!"
After church, I was standing outside a doorway waiting for my family to come out, and chatting with a friend. As I held the door open for someone exiting with her baby boy in a stroller, I joked to my friend that sometimes I would love for someone to push me around like that. My daughter heard me and pretended to give me a push, and I said "not that kind of push, I want wheels."
Well, as someone with MS, I realized as soon as the words were out of my mouth that what I had just said could very well end up being my reality someday. I hope and pray it isn't, of course, but it really struck me there for a minute. We had a good laugh about it, but I don't think it's something I'll be joking around about anymore.
The truth is, none of us knows what our future may hold, and that is probably a good thing! Last weekend I attended a lay speaker conference and a man said something to me that I really took to heart. He has a lot of serious health struggles, so his future is very uncertain. Because of that, he said he wants to spend every day using his "gift of gab" (the man could talk to till the cows come home) to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. "I don't know how long I'm gonna be here, so I'm gonna preach the Word with every day I've got," he vowed.
I really liked that attitude. I can't think of any better way possible to spend the time we're given. If I die tomorrow, my wish would be that something I've done today will somehow make a difference to the Kingdom!
The apostle Paul addresses this in Colossians 4:2-6. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
Sounds like good rules for conversation to me. I think I'll be more careful of the off-the-cuff, "be careful what you wish for" kind of comments too! :)
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