When Thinking About “Someday” Today, is Good

He passed me on the sidewalk and smiled a big, broad warm smile.  It caught me off guard, but warmed my heart.  His steps were measured. His gait slow.  His back was bent into the shape that only 90 years of living can produce.

I smiled back.

Someday that will be me, I thought to myself.

I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind as I slid behind the wheel of my SUV, which has way too many stains on its carpet to belong to anyone without children.  I remembered how I used to look at women with teenagers and young adults. Those women seemed so odd; their lives so foreign. It felt like I would never be old enough to be that woman. But I am.

As far back as I can remember I’ve looked at people ahead of my stage in life and wondered “will I ever really be that old?”

I could hardly imagine what it would be like to go to middle school.

And then it happened.

I could hardly imagine actually possessing my very own driver’s license.

And then I passed.

I could hardly imagine going off to college and living on my own.

But I did.

I could hardly imagine being married.

Then I met JP.

I could hardly imagine being a mother.

Then the pregnancy test came back positive

I could hardly imaging getting a full night’s sleep, or driving without buckling someone into a car seat, or never having to change a diaper.

But the kids grew.

And now I am here.

But someday I’ll be there.

I’ll be him–the man on the street, only in the female version. As hard as it is to imagine, it’s true. The time will come.

Will I have done everything I meant to do in this life?  Will I have loved enough, laughed enough, shared enough, worked enough, played enough?  Will I have fulfilled the purpose God created me for? Will I have done my part?

I hope so.  It’s part of the reason I wrote SEEK. One of my favorite lines in the book is a simple one, really. “I wrote this book because I think every woman should be able to meet God if she wants to.” It breaks my heart to think there is a gal out there, somewhere, who longs to know God but doesn’t know how. I grew up going to church every single Sunday, but I can’t stand the thought that some women–women just like me–don’t have access to the wealth of information about God I had. It doesn’t seem right, somehow.

So I wrote.

I couldn’t imagine doing it, at first.

But then I began. And now it’s done.

Just like life.

My life, and your life, and the life of the man I passed on the street.

Someday we will all be him.

Hard to imagine.  But true.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

PS. To celebrate the release of SEEK: A Woman’s Guide to Meeting God, I’m selecting one reader each week to win a free $25 gift card!  Simply leave a comment below and tell a friend about the blog, or the book to be entered. Good Luck! 🙂

PSS.  Check back soon for a 2nd lesson I learned from the man on the street……