“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly.” — Ephesians 5:17, The MESSAGE)
My coaching client, Beth, knew that the type of cancer she had would eventually take her life, but she was taken aback one day when a woman asked, “What does it feel like to know you’re going to die?
Beth stopped for a second and then asked the woman, “What does it feel like to pretend that you are not going to die?”
“When I thought more about it later,” Beth said, “I realized my diagnosis gave me the courage to live full out, to not hold anything back. It also gave me the courage to go back to school and get my graduate degree.”
I had a similar reaction more than 22 years ago after the recurrence of breast cancer. The experience gave me the incentive to reevaluate my priorities and to live purposefully using the time and resources God has given me.
So what does it feel like to know you are going to die?
My answer: It enables me to live more purposefully for God in the here and now, so I have fewer regrets and more meaning and joy.
How would you answer this question?
