I am no author. I like to pretend at times that I can string a few sentences together but an author I am not. Neither are you, most likely (if you are an author drop your contact info below so I can follow up and learn a thing or 10). Yet, there is a story each of us is currently working on that is unique to us all. A story that we write a moment at a time and yet, we will not be the ones who tell it. *Queue Hamilton track #19

When you think with the “end” in mind, your day changes. Your weeks and months have a different perspective. Your hobbies and interests have less of an impact on you. Your worries and stresses no longer seem as significant or maybe they rise in significance. The point is, when you think with the end in mind you change. Why? Because in reality, we believe we have forever and are somehow just beginning.

We encounter finality quite often yet seem to walk away from its’ reality. We live our life for things that matter so very little in the big picture while easily overlooking the people and things that matter most. I will lose sleep over a Rays playoff performance. I will move my schedule around to watch a Jags game. I will waste hours consumed with this stress or that worry. Where do these things get me? Where do they get us? And at what cost do we give ourselves to trivial things?

I try to pay attention to the things that matter most. My wife, my kids, my parents, my siblings, my church, and my purpose yet, it would appear that these are the roles I take for granted most. “Paying attention” is an intentional phrase because to be most effective in these roles should cost me. A price I should willingly pay but one I often find too expensive or defer to later payment. Being the creature I am the moment of pleasure found in a double by my favorite Rays player comes at the expense of throwing a ball with my favorite people. The stress I allow to linger from a situation at work costs me more than a headache. It costs me a night of being locked in and present with the ones that matter most. My mind is consumed with this and that while my wife has to fight for but a moment.

I try. In full transparency, I think I am better than I used to be. Nowhere near where I would like to be but maybe 2% closer. Maybe 3%. The catalyst for me in writing this is the question “what story will people share of me when all there is left of me is my story?’. When I have stepped into eternity what will my family, friends, and church say? Will it be about my affections for the Rays only? Will it be about my stress over whether the chalk lines are straight for our sports games (they never are and I am working on forgiving myself for it)? Will my daughters share how they knew a model of love because of the way I loved their mom? Will my son say he loves his savior because his dad modeled Christ?

I am not suggesting to you that I plan on no longer watching my teams, collecting sports cards, or stressing about the lines on my baseball fields. I am saying to you that I need to do a better job of weighing each decision with the end in mind. I want to write a story worth sharing. A story that speaks to the grace of Christ. A story that declares a man’s love and service for his wife and children. A story of one who walks alongside his brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them in this race we call life. A life lived for others and the glory of God. That would be a story I would like to write. I just have to be resolved in each decision to create that story.

Live with the end in mind my friends because it is always closer than it appears. Live life for the good of others and the glory of our God. You are writing a unique story whether you care to or not. Be resolved to make it a story worth sharing when you are simply a story to share.