What do you want from life?

What do you want from life?

What do you want from life? That was the question I asked my daughter who was trying to decide what her college major should be. An immediate answer is not necessary, but it will affect the rest of her life. That simple question weighed heavy in my spirit. I realized after all these years as an introverted woodworker, dreamer and artist, I had never asked myself that simple question.

          So, what do I want from life? My mind at first goes to travel and riches..... but that would be in the end, an empty life. Oh, there would be pictures and keepsakes to jog the mind to recall a place or time where a good time was had, but in the end it would seem fairly fruitless. Power and wealth ....no,no,no.... that conjures images of cruel and heartless persons that no one really wants to be around but we are because of their status and connections.

          I began seriously contemplating what is important to me. You see, after over four decades on this revolving ball, I realized life had unfolded over the years and in a way it feels like I have just been along for the ride, despite that I have been self employed and seemingly, in control,  most of my adult life. If I had a go at life again from the age of the bright eyed girl in front of me, what would I want from life? What is important to me?

           Is money important to me? I truly have never had a love of money. For me money is an object. I have to have it to live and provide for my family. I've never held a desire to accumulate it, although I often have wished that I was more determined in that area. Power is distasteful to me. I picture a politician or corporate big shot making deals by talking out of both sides of their mouths with empty promises that play on some persons weak dreams and then laughing about it over golf and  exspensive whiskey. What do I desire?

          What do I desire? I love to be loved. I want to be appreciated. I want to be told that I did a good job. I want my wife to still have a desire to “make out” with me in the car when we are fifty. I want my children to think I am Superman, at least for a while. I want to make a positive difference in a fatherless child's life. I want to be wise. I want to be a good best friend. I want to be funny. I want my God to smile when He comes across my name in His Book of Life. I want people to enjoy the things I make. I truly love to make things. I enjoy building furniture, pottery, oil painting, making useful things from junk, chicken coops, glass casting; just about anything that you do with your hands that you pour all of one's self into.....that is what I love to do.

          Before I pass from this world I want to learn how to surf. I don't have to be in an exotic place, but I hear Costa Rica is a great place to learn! I want to go to Italy and put my hands on Michelangelo's statue of Moses. I want to see and run the tips of my fingers across the chisel marks that I'm almost sure that I will find in out of the way places. At least I hope I will find them and be assured that even one of the greatest of artists was human too. Surely he tired of polishing and had deadlines to meet and bills to pay as I have. I want to stroll along two thousand year old streets and see some Roman architecture. I want to see Mt. Zion where Jesus ascended into heaven in front of his closest friends. I want to stand in front of Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' for hours. I want to go to Amsterdam and laugh away a week of afternoons in the cafes with good friends.

          As wonderful as all that is, I wouldn't miss my seeing my son pitch a middle school baseball game to experience it. I wouldn't miss my daughter cheering or dancing to walk that ancient cobblestone road. I coached my youngest son in his first football game in real pads today. I wouldn't trade seeing that competitive sneer and afterwards that smile on his face for anything. So it seems that for all my wants, in the end, I want to be with the people I love, that love me. I wonder if that is how God feels? After all, we are his children. I believe that God loves to walk with us every day, cheering us on in our struggles and even giving us a little help to climb that mountain or finish that report. I know I enjoy Him.