we are mist.

I tend to write blog posts when I’m facing mountains of homework. In this case, a 10 page Mt. Everest research paper that I haven’t even began to climb yet.

I figure after writing an avalanche of papers, outlines, PowerPoints, and speeches, it’s due time I write to you. I could be wrong, but I think you are more important than my research paper. (Not to mention a lot more interesting).

Lately the phrase, life is short, hit me hard. Because wasn’t it just yesterday that I was counting down the days to move into my college dorm? And now I am already counting down the days to the end of sophomore year. (Which is 38, by the way). Life is too short and goes by too fast.

But the bible explains it best.

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14

We are a mist. That sounds so insulting, doesn’t it? Like something a middle school boy would shout across the cafeteria at lunch. “You are a MIST!” Oooo. Students stop eating their PB&J’s and look up from reading little jokes on milk cartons. Boom. Roasted.

But there is a positive side to this put-down. It means our problems are a mist too. Our bodies, our flaws, and our worries are not forever. They are as temporary as Starbucks’s seasonal fall drinks.

The little life we try to control and create for ourselves is limited. We make a teepee with the fragile twigs we gather. And we are so proud of that teepee, aren’t we? But all it takes is a gust of wind and our teepee collapses. Just like that, it disappears against the forest floor; life is over. We don’t get a second chance.

But God says, “Wait! I can use your tiny twigs better.” When we give our lives to Him, He gives us a promise.

“And this is what he promised us–eternal life.” 1 John 2:25

Yes, we are a mist. But God uses our twigs to build us–his children–a beautiful log cabin. (his kingdom in heaven). Though life is short, it is not without purpose.

“Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15

In God’s will, we will live. Remember, living to me means something different for you. So do what you love. Say what you mean. Create things. Sing songs. Write stories. Travel places. Live out loud because life is too short to be silent a second longer.

The challenge is to be the most bold and fully alive mist/teepee you can be! And because this moment is the only thing we can be sure of, I say you should get started, my friend. 

In the meantime, I will start climbing Mt. Everest.

Molly

“Whatever work you do, do it with all your heart. Do it for the Lord and not for men.” Colossians 3:23

Song//Daughter by Sleeping at Last