Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. So goes the old saying. Like tonight when I was deep in thought and wasn’t paying attention and walked into a wall. I like to think I was providing unintentional comedic relief.

But truly, the best moments are ususally the ones you don’t plan or expect. Like when I went tonight expecting a Bible Study on Romans, but got good conversation instead about life. Or the moments when you just decide spontaneously to take a walk at night.

I think the great theologian Ferris Bueller was right. Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop every once in a while and look around, you could miss it. If you are so busy “getting things done” and “keeping your schedule,” you could wind up looking back on your life and wondering where it went.

I am more and more conviced that life is about people and relationships and conversations and walking though joy and sorrow together. I have  yet to hear of someone on their deathbed say anything close to “I wish I could have spent more time at the office” or “I really wish I could have gotten more things done.” The regret is always not spending enough time with those you love.

Why wait until you’re dying to get perspective? Why not live each day like it could be your last and do what you would do then? Why not make your focus on people and creating memories instead of a checklist that will never ever be done. No matter how much you do or how much you work, you can always do more. But you miss so much that way.

Maybe you’ll say I’m not motivated enough. Maybe you’re right. But I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find out that I was so busy trying to do God’s work that I missed God’s heart. I don’t want to get to the end only to wish I could go back for a do-over when it’s too late.

It’s good and wise to make plans and have goals. It’s also a good thing to keep your eyes and ears open and be willing to leave some things undone every now and then. Leave room in your life for living. And naps and concerts and sunsets. And always when the opportunity presents, take the chocolate.