Robert and I, are over at the coffee shop, eating breakfast and he asks me, “Did you get up grumpy today?” and I said, “Naw, left her in the bed and came on down here!” Take My Wife … Please! Then we started “conversating” as we is prone to do (Okie Talk).
Television came up. A very popular show on television is “Extreme Makeovers.” Which made me think of “What would it be like, if you got a second chance?” I don’t really want a make over, what I want is a DO OVER. That sort of appeals to me, one more go at it, I guess everyone is like that in a way.
If I had it all over to again, would I make the same mistakes?
Would I make more of them?
Would I learn how to relax, or would stress eat my lunch and control my day.
Would I limber up and find some laughter and joy in life, if I had this second chance.
Would I take it all more seriously and blow the second shot right out the window?
Maybe take more trips, meet more interesting people, go to interesting places
Perhaps even crazier than I am now, why not, this was sort of fun at times,
Might climb a mountain, swim in a river, and sit still along enough to enjoy the setting sun.
In my next life I would walk more, and drive less.
I would do less talking and more looking.
More Ice Cream and a lot less green beans.
Pay more attention to the real problems in my life, and ignore the imaginary ones.
Live life,
Prophylactically and sensibly hour after hour,
Day after day.
When I hit high gear on the second time around, I will refrain from using words like Prophylactically (“acting to defend against or protect from something”) mainly because most people do not use words like that, don’t know the meaning of them, and everyone is going to be able to see how smart you are anyway …… Usually in about five minutes in most cases.
I won’t dress for success.
I won’t eat chocolate, drink Coke
Shove a lot of groceries down my neck.
I won’t try to program my senses and my life for monetary gain, prestige or power.
I will stop and buy whatever little kids are selling from a stand beside the road.
Will cease getting all bent out of shape over people who do not use spelling checkers.
The one’s who write all the hate emails and imply my parents were not married.
Definitely would have more “lite Bulb” moments, if I was allowed to do it over again.
Less country music and more spiritual uplifting gospel music would be the order of the day
Moment after moment, I would not only seek them out (lite bulb moments),
I would have MORE of them in my life
I would toss thermometers, hot water bottles, gargles, raincoats, cable TV bills, telephones (especially cell phones), voice mail, user names and passwords.
Doing it all over, I would travel lighter, traveling to places I have not yet been,
If the wife wanted to sit in the truck, I would allow it, it is after all, her second time around too
Nothing would hold me back … I am going
Barefooted if I have to … I am stepping out.
I will head out in the spring and miss the tornados and twisters on the plains.
I would spend most of the summer and some of the fall, in the cool air of the mountains somewhere, perhaps outside of Fresno in the High Sierra’s.
I would stop every now and then just to smell the flowers.
Set aside self ambition and personal preference for God’s will and his way in my life.
Choose the right priorities and force myself to realize the importance of a spirit filled life, a life which has all the earmarks of Christian Service.
Life is a lot like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going, and some place it to see where they have been. Some just stick them up against the wall to lean back and watch the present.
And then there is mine … On some days, no matter how hard I try … I often I can’t even get mine unfolded.
But one of these days, when I get it all together, I am going to do it. Unfolding my deck chair, I am going to sit in the sunshine, and listen to God, that is, if I allowed to have it all over to do again.
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