Higher Resolution
As we close a decade and enter a bright new one, many people will take a little extra time to reflect on life as 2019 comes to an end. To close a decade is a special event, and often times we ponder a little heavier in those moments. To me, it is almost mind-boggling. Time seems to fly faster with each calendar year tick. I simply cannot grasp how fast time goes by as I am entering midlife. Each year seemingly flees faster than the previous one. Growing up, I never even had the year 2020 come to mind. In a few days, we will be writing the date on checks and business transactions. Beyond that, more importantly, we will be actually living it.
With the coming new year, many people will no doubt set aside thoughts filled with the hope for change. Sometimes these things are achievable, some might be a long stretch. For instance, my wife said she wants to start the New Year with a clean house. For those of you who have been over, well… maybe wish her well. You might want to send her both your sympathy and wishful thinking cards. It might be easier to keep a pig pen tidy, as a pirate cove is a hard thing to keep clean. It is natural on New Year’s to hope like this though, to desire a clean slate, and it makes logical sense to determine change to begin on such a day as this. Some will aim for a slimmer figure (I have gained 30 lbs since my accident and barely fit in some of my clothes). Some will aim for better grades with a new semester nearing. Others might want to put some money away for savings, or plan a trip to a new destination. Some might decide in their minds that they will pursue a special someone, better a relationship, or get a gym membership.
As admirable as all those things may be, I want to share briefly with you a perspective that you might not often consider.
In 2018, I suffered a life threatening accident. It left me with a scull fractured in two places, bleeding in my brain, a traumatic brain injury, smashed sinuses, instant loss of hearing in one ear, extreme tinnitus in the same, the loss of my balance and concentration, vertigo, and a memory that was wiped clean. I had no short-term memory at all, and it took months to recover even to the point of going out in public. Although I am far better now than I used to be, I still cannot function in the day-to-day activities and work that others around me do so easily. I still have a long way to go.
With the injury, many things had to change. For one, my home and personal life took a major reconstruction. No longer would I be able to go to work, come home and spend time with family like before. No longer would I be able to rush away with the kids, filling our adventure tank with all sorts of ideas. No more kayaking in the ocean. No more bouldering or climbing cliffs at our favorite locations. Instead, everything I knew had to change.
Most people view change in terms of seasons. I'm not talking about the change of running to football practice instead of running to wrestling practice, the close of fall semester and the opening of the spring one, or possibly the change of moving from one home across town to another one. These are common changes we experience in life, some even being positive and enjoyable, and many don't take long to adapt to. What I'm referring to in this post however, are the hard things of life that force change us. Many of you have faced similar life-altering events as I did. Divorce, car crashes, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or possibly a long term or terminal sickness are just a few examples of serious things that change our lives forever. These things demand lifestyle changes, often are unexpected or unwarranted, and they force us to make change whether we like it or not. My family is still undergoing the process of accepting change. It is hard.
Putting myself in the shoes of others, here are examples I’ve imagined of lifestyle changes written from the perspective of teenage boys:
“Dad can’t function well in the morning, it’s easier if we just do things ourselves. Dad can’t handle more than one thing at a time. Dad cannot process more than one sound at any given moment, and so information must be given to him in a ridiculously slow pace. He gets overloaded easily, and so we need to keep the home quiet and as orderly as we can. Dad can’t go ride a motorcycle anymore or kayak with us. We have to find other things to do with him that he can handle. Movies work, but only ones that don’t fly all over the screen like Transformers. We can turn the radio on in the car, but dad needs his earplugs. I just want to listen to music at a normal volume. Can I come in the house for lunch and not overload dad’s head yet?
It stinks.
We would love to have the old dad back. We have a whole world to conquer and places to run to. We have mototcross races to win, mountains to climb, farm jobs to be taught, the chance of working together on the farm, and we need to enjoy family parties and get togethers. Life needs to be lived loud and large. We are ready. Come on dad, get it in gear!”
There are also lifestyle changes from a wife’s perspective:
“Hubby, I’m ready for us to go on a great vacation. I’m ready for the honeymoon that we didn’t get to experience yet. I’m ready to wake up in the morning and have coffee with you, and you be with it enough to handle the 57 things that my mind already has swirling around inside it. You are in pain again today? How long do I have to wait until we get a pain free day? I want your attention in the evenings. Don’t you remember that we already talked about this? I want you to be strong enough to handle the ups and downs of family life without caving at the end of the day in a tailspin into outer space. I am also ready for you to fix the bathroom sink, the kitchen cabinet, and the living room light that needs replaced. Oh yeah, can you help take down the Christmas lights on the porch yet?”
Admittingly, I know that I am not an easy person to live with anymore. I am consciously aware that many times my injury makes things hard for other people. I feel for my wife and kids that they can’t be loud and crazy like everyone else. Maybe one day we will set out to kayak into the sun once again, but that day is not today.
I am extremely thankful that my wife and kiddos have been so super. They all got handed a mighty big thing to hold, and they are doing rather well with it. What I still have functioning rather well is a great big heart and lots of love to pass out. That, and the choice of trying to be as engaged as possible, is what I have to give to them. Like it or not, change occurred.
So I said all that to tell you this…
With the lifestyle change that my family and I were forced to accept, came a whole lot of things that God taught me. More than anything, my perspective on life changed. How could it possibly be the same anymore? In all honesty, I should be dead right now. When my accident happened, I fully expected to be in heaven the next time my eyes opened. I was very surprised to wake up in a hospital.
When you have an epiphany like I did, which is explained in detail in my second book titled “All That The Locusts Have Eaten,” your eyes see everything the world has to offer in a different light. The world just doesn’t shine like it used to. Material things don’t seem to be so important. “Things” just don’t glisten like they used to. Even dreams and ambitions get weighed in a new balance and measured on a different scale than they did before. What is really important takes on a whole new meaning, and this is something impossible to write as emphatically as I would scream it if we were in person. With this new set of eyes I was graciously given, I now see things altogether different. That is why I long to help others heal and desire to point as many to Christ as I can.
A thousand years from now, will it really matter if your New Year’s resolution came to be or not?
In a nutshell, the perspective that my life now took on was one much bigger than myself. In aspect to that, it is also a much more enjoyable one. To see things in a greater way, for a greater good, to go beyond yourself… well, that is just so much more satisfying. It takes the strain and pressure off of stupid details about ourselves that make no difference. New green pants or khakis really don't matter all that much.
This New Year’s Eve, my prayer and hope for those who are in contact with me is vastly different than what I would have challenged you with before. I want you to ask yourself some questions. Look deep inside and answer them honestly.
Is there something that I could challenge myself to do in 2020 that will make a real difference? Is there something the Lord wants me to pursue that will have eternal significance to another soul in need? Instead of doing something as trivial as giving up chocolate for a few days and then forgetting about the diet you were so convinced you would keep, why not plan a mission trip and invest in something spiritual? Is there someone close by that lives each day without Jesus? Why not commit to praying for that individual each day of the new year until the opportunity arises that you could show him or her how much Christ means to you? How about challenging yourself to share your testimony? Could you care for another human being? What is in your grasp that would actually make lasting value if accomplished? Is there something beyond yourself that a thousand years from now you will be glad you aimed for?
If so, pursue it with relentless devotion.
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
We all need a higher resolution. A higher resolution will not only affect the quality of sight and image that we see in this world, but the eternal paybacks will be unfathomable. My challenge to all you that support and read this blog is simple. Ditch the diet, the exercise goal, and the silly idea that you are going to be a better person just because of the piece of paper you signed on December 31 but already have misplaced.
Make a real difference. Do something. Achieve something with eternal significance. Choose to make your life count for someone else beside yourself in 2020. Be a “Life Compass” that points to Jesus. Look beyond your own abilities. Let God do something through you this year. After all, life is much bigger, and better…
With higher resolution.
by Chuck Carr