“You don’t value life because you don’t live life,” the Lord said to me as I awoke in the middle of the night, finding myself unable to sleep and bored.  He got my attention.  I have often, all throughout my life, acknowledged to him and to myself that I don’t put as much value on my life as he does; and that if push came to shove and I were to find myself physically deteriorated and unable to function, I would prefer death over living that way.  I don’t think about it, but it does run underneath my conscious, joyful self.

“Tell me more,” I said to him.

“You barely use this life.  You mostly just exist.  You sit on a shelf watching what goes on around you.  You occasionally jump off and into the play, but you never venture far, and before you know it you’re back in place on the shelf, immobile, seemingly inanimate.  If you would live more dynamically, more fully, you would appreciate the blood flowing through your veins.”

“I see,” I said. “It’s like the saying that the benefit you get from something is based on what you’re willing to put into it. It is measured and proportional.”

This is a truth that’s been slowly awakening in me – in my body as much as in my soul. It’s time to live. Time to put zeal and zest into life and living.

Time to be active: to walk and run and dance.

Time to connect: to experience new people and new places and new opportunities.

Time to fly: to rise above the limitations I’ve inflicted on myself and above the fears and above the weight that holds me to the ground.

“Okay I hear you, Lord.  So now what?”

“Now let’s eat. Now fuel yourself with that which will build your body, inspire your mind, and move your soul.  Be mindful of what you take in. Some things weigh you down and leave you only to sit on the shelf, gathering dust. Other intake is life-giving and will support you. I will teach you. And then I’ll show you what this baby can do!”