Meeting Challenges

I had an incredible experience over the weekend, the opportunity to visit with three really great men and talk about those things that are most important in life, i.e. family, friends, faith and service. One a lawyer/historian, one a technology/financial expert and the last a pediatric dentist. Very different in vocations and the paths they have followed but very similar in dedication and passion. I am a better person for the few hours that I was able to spend with these great men over the weekend.

In the process, there were some priorities in my life that were moved a round a bit. But more importantly, my priorities were confirmed. The things that really matter in life are family, friends, faith and what you do with the things you are given stewardship over.

I absolutely love a good story, particulary one that teaches me something about myself and teaches me principles of truth. I just finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the umpteenth time. I still get teary-eyed when the four shortest heros in the classic, the Hobbits, play such a huge role in the battle for Middle Earth. It gives me hope. But as I watched this time (watching takes two or three weeks when it is done 30 minutes a day while I am working out on the treadmill), I was impressed with one of the great themes of the story. This bit of dialogue will help me explain:

Frodo says "I wish The Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

Gandalf replies "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

We all are given such different paths and opportunities in life. It is easy to wonder and ask why some have struggles, some have success, some seem to find financial treasure and some have all they try turn sour. There are no easy answers, there are only more questions. But I truly believe that what does matter is how we decide to spend the time that is given to us. This is a principle that I can accept and live by.

Another great man said it slightly different. He was lamenting the fact that he wished with his whole heart to be able to go and pursue a course which wasn't granted to him. Instead, while his friends went and worked in far-flung locales and had great success, he stayed at home and minded the store, so to speak. In the end though, he stated a principle that I love. He said "why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?

And that is what I try to live by; understand the work that must be performed and do it to the best of my ability without regrets or vain hope to do something else more glamorous. If I do the task, whatever it is, to the best of my ability, then I have no doubt that I, like Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippen, will have a postive impact on the world we all share.