You Can't Take it With You

It has been a sobering week. Wednesday morning it was announced on the news that a girl that I graduated from SMU with was tragically killed while out for a jog in Italy. Though I did not know her well personally, many of my good friends did. It is heart wrenching to imagine what her family must be going through, how desolate they must feel.

My heart and my prayers go out to them during this time.

Then, that evening, the news broke that one of the greatest innovators and most inspirational leaders of our time passed away. Steve Jobs certainly left his mark on this world, and his legacy will not soon be forgotten.

It is so hard for me to justify the deaths of these two people. One, having realized--even exceeded--the potential of a generation and many more beyond; the other never given time to experience life to the fullest, now just so many lost moments and milestones.

It does not seem fair. And the truth is, it’s not. Life is not fair, and as hard as you try, you cannot take it with you. I catch myself on a daily mission for more. More time, more material things, more money. But in the end, none of that matters. It does not last.

Steve Jobs, easily one of the wealthiest and most powerful men of our time, could not save his own life on money and power alone. It was not enough.

But what does matter? What does last? The answer, for me, is the lives of the people I invest in. Giving of my time, my energy, and my resources to those who need it more than I do. Sharing my faith with those who don’t have faith or hope. Making time for people, really genuinely listening and genuinely caring about their struggles, their heartache.

Stepping outside of myself, letting go of the meaningless busyness of my day, and looking to help someone else, to encourage them, pray for them, or simply love them.

Those moments, those selfless acts are the only investments that last.

I can’t take anything in this life with me, and the only lasting legacy I can truly leave behind is the way I treat others.

 At the end of a trying week, I reflect on my life, and I thank God for the wonderful blessings I have. An amazing husband whom I love so much, a supportive and loving family, my health and the health of all those I love, and a life full of opportunities. Now it is time to seize those opportunities, to take each day and live it to the fullest, and to invest in what really matters, what truly lasts.