Check your battery

What if you woke up each day knowing how much time you had left on Earth? How would you live your life differently than you are? Would you go to work still or would you finally do something you enjoy rather than going through the motions of your everyday life? 

Yesterday's message at church really stuck with me. He compared our lives to a cell phone battery. If we woke up each day and saw what percentage of our life we had left, how would that affect us? If you woke up with 20% today, would you live your life differently than if you woke up with 75%? Probably.

It's the percentage that really matters. Do we not realize how valuable life is until its too late? Do we wait to start loving others and appreciating the small things in life when we are down to our final 10%? Do we put off our feelings about someone or something, or do we put off spending time with family and friends because "there's always tomorrow?" It'd be nice to have that percentage each day when we wake up, but we don't. That can be a good thing, or it can be bad. If today were to be your last day, would you be happy with the way you've been living your life, or would you want to change something? Have you been living a life that honors Christ and being a light to those around you or have you been keeping quiet in fear of someone thinking differently of you for what you believe? Do you spend all of your time planning.. Planning for tomorrow, next week, next month. We aren't promised that and we don't know what tomorrow will bring, so are you using your time wisely?

I've been talking more lately to someone I went to high school with, and the other day he said "when did you become a motivational book, like you just whipped out this long paragraph and I was blown away.." I'd been trying to encourage him and let him know that everything will work out as its supposed to and it'll be better than he can imagine- a lot of things I'd obviously never have said as a senior in high school. No, I never used to think this way.. I was big on planning for the future, for tomorrow, for life after high school. But now, I know that it isn't promised, I know that whatever God has planned for me will happen. Whether I have 80% or 25% left in my battery is up to Him, and I can just live in the here and now to influence those around me.

I want to change the world. I want to leave it better than I left it, and I want to be a person that can influence others lives in ways that will show them a love they've never known. I want them to know that there is a God who is so full of love and grace for them. That they don't have to worry, to be sad, to feel guilty or ashamed because our God took all of our sins with Him on the cross so we wouldn't have to worry. 

I knew that love growing up. I went to Church twice a week through 8th grade, but I didn't realize the importance of that love until I came to college and made the decision on my own to learn more and grow in my relationship with Christ. I wouldn't have ever guessed four years ago that I'd be where I am today. Not in a million years. It's also something I wouldn't change for the world. It might have taken me lots of ups and downs to get to where I'm at, some of it I like, some of it I strongly dislike, but I know that I needed to go down those paths to get me where I am today.

I know I'm only one person and I can only talk to so many people in one day. I know time is important and I know that God's timing is always perfect, regardless of whether we think it is or not. I know there's a lot of people out there who need God's love, and I know I can't possibly reach everyone. But I do know that by starting small, impacting one person could lead to that person impacting someone, and soon, there will be people seeing the light from states away-- all because of one person. 

So how are you going to use our battery today? Are you going to get up and be happy when you go to work, smile and say hello to a coworker you normally wouldn't? What about calling up your friend you haven't talked to in awhile just to let them know you're thinking of them? 

Time's been a weird thing for me lately. I'm stuck in a battle between being ready for the next chapter of my life and not being ready to leave what I'm comfortable with. Whether I like it or not, time is flying by. We're down to thirteen days until graduation, and then what? I'm not sure, but I do know that as it approaches more quickly each day, I find trivial things less important, and wanting to be around those I care about matters that much more. I've been meaning to edit the rough draft of my paper for about a week, but life's brought plenty of opportunities for me to do other things, so that's gotten pushed down on my priority list. Oh, you want to go for a bike ride? I won't be able to do this with you in a few weeks, so yes lets go. Oh you wanna go listen to that band all night, sure. I don't spend my entire day working on it. Instead, I've been breaking it up and editing it by section. That way, I balance my time between spending times with family and friends and doing work I need to get done (fingers crossed it'll be complete tomorrow, yay!) 

Normally, I'd have gotten super anxious and freaked out whenever something came up. But now, I take advantage of it. Our battery percentage here at IWU is down to red, and I'd rather use it wisely than regret not taking the time to be with those I love down the road. So time. It's a tricky little thing, but it's what we do with our time here that really matters. 


I don't want to live a life where I look back and have regrets. I want to look back and see how far I've come from the person I used to be. To know that I might have had a small impact on at least one person's life. That I loved those who didn't deserve it, that I loved until it hurt or laughed until I cried, and that I didn't give up when times got hard because I put all of my trust in God. Just maybe if we lived our life like we were down to 10%, the world might be just a little different than it is today. Just maybe we'd see the love that the world needs.

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