six months to live

What would you do if you knew you only had six months to live? This question came up in our Bible Study tonight and my mind started racing about all the possibilities. Quit my job (fo shizzle!), witness to my friends and family, tell people how I feel about them and what they have meant to me in my life, tell people things I have been too gutless to say, maybe head off to somewhere like Myanmar and serve God somewhere out of my comfort zone, street-preaching, give away my belongings, eat 'sometimes foods' all the time, spend time with my loved ones.

I could think of so many things! Things I have always wanted to do, but never have because of embarrassment, pride or fear (haha sounds familiar huh?). The thing is, it made me realise that a lot of the things I am working towards now (as a twenty-five year old, with supposedly many years ahead of me) are totally different the things the Rowena-with-only-six-months-to-live would work towards. But why the discrepancy?

Are the things in my life at the moment THAT meaningless? Am I wasting my time doing this or that? How much of what I am doing counts in an eternal perspective?

Living in the light of eternity is something that has been drilled into me during the countless youth camps and Bible studies of the past 10 years or so, but I think it's always good to be reminded of what our current priorities are and what they should be. As the Bible study material puts it 'contemplation of death gives us the wisdom to live'. Amen to that!