Life seems to move quickly. As Barry Allen alias the Flash (the CW version, played brilliantly by Grant Gustin) once put it: “This world can race by far too fast; hard to see when it’s all flying past.” Blink a few times, and all of the sudden, my niece is turning 15 years old here in a few weeks, my younger brother is turning 40 later on this year, and my dad’s passing was almost 9 years ago now. Time inevitably marches on.
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to watch the film “American Underdog” starring Zachary Levi
as Kurt Warner. This is a story that tells
the life and times of Kurt Warner, and his amazing rise to star NFL
quarterback. I thought it was really
well done. And I have to admit that it’s
an odd feeling to watch movies that capture an event that I lived though. I was watching Kurt Warner and his magical
1999 season with the St. Louis Rams in real time. Time marches on.
I got to thinking: what I would say to a younger version of
myself? This is a question that could
take many angles. But for today, I want
to present a few answers. I would tell
him what a Chick-fil-A operator once said – a line that I have subsequently
used many times since I first heard it; he said, “Life is chapters.” It’s true.
The other day, I realized a beloved video game “Donkey Kong Country” on the Super Nintendo was released in 1994. My brother and I played this iconic game like
crazy when we were younger. This video
game is a rare gem, a masterpiece – and its celebrating its 30-year anniversary!
“Donkey Kong Country”
has beautiful graphics, including one of my favorite levels called “Snow Barrel
Blast” that has varying degrees of falling snow. I know the game so well, my mind
instinctively knows that a particularly memorable level is coming. Because of this, I have unintentionally missed
the beauty of the level in my walkthrough of the game, just by focusing on the
next one. I would tell my younger self
that I’ve been guilty of the same thing in my real life. Just as I could easily miss the beauty of a
stage by focusing on an upcoming stage, sadly, I have missed the beauty of a
season of life by focusing on the next season.
Finally, I started today with a quote from Grant Gustin’s Barry
Allen/the Flash. I want to end by
speaking about another version of the superhero. I recently saw “The Flash” (2023) film starring Ezra Miller. I could write a whole blog on this topic, but
for today, I would submit that this film is an example of how not to end a superhero film. The first two-thirds of the film is decent
enough (Michael Keaton in the Batman suit again is certainly a big highlight!),
but it falls flat on its face in the 3rd and final act. The ending is disjointed and perplexing. I now use this film to encourage myself: “Kevin,
don’t be like “The Flash” film;
finish well!”
Don’t misunderstand me when I speak of finishing well. No one knows the exact years of a lifetime;
my Grandma just celebrated her 95th birthday!
I’m about to celebrate my 43rd birthday myself, and I’m excited about
where I am at this current season of my life.
I have absolutely no intentions of going anywhere. But, as James states, “You don’t even know
what will happen tomorrow” (4:13). I
trust God with my life, and my tomorrows. I just echo the words of the Psalmist, when he
says to the Lord, “my times are in Your hands” (Psalm 31:15). But all that said, I still want to endeavor
to finish well. Knowing that one day,
whenever that may be, my race will be over.
And I want to cross that finish line well – all to the glory of God
alone.
God bless,
Kevin
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