Another Thursday night so it is time for Five Minute Friday. The word is SAFE
Go
When I was in Afghanistan I never really felt safe.
When you are in the military you are not supposed to put your hands in your pockets. And to that, I wonder why they give you pockets. 🙂 Anyways, I would always get in trouble for putting my hands in my pockets and I would commonly say, “I might die tomorrow so I’m going to put my hands in my pockets.”
Looking back I wonder why I don’t live the way that I did. Maybe the danger was more real overseas, but even now I could die tomorrow. What would I really want to do? What kind of life do I want to live? Maybe it something small like putting your hands in your pockets so you can be comfortable, but maybe it is something big like writing a book or maybe even skydiving.
What are you waiting for? You could die tomorrow. No one is safe. We don’t have any guarantee what tomorrow will bring. I hope that I can live with perseverance and try to remember what it was like to live with the chance of death being so close and still so far away. It was there and it changed how I looked at things.
Now that I am a mom when I think of safety I think about my kids. How God protects them. What we do as parents to take care of them. What can keep them safe? Nothing really, but we always have hope that tomorrow will come and our babies will still be here.
But what would you change if that wasn’t true? Live like life isn’t safe because you never know what will happen next.
Stop
This month my MOPS group is doing a 28 Day Challenge. Each day we are challenged with either a truth or a dare. It has been fun so far to have a challenge each day. The truths make you think about things we often don’t give ourselves space to think about and the dares can be something small like breathing for 5 minutes or counting 100 stars (which by the way was impossible to do in LA and the weather didn’t help).
Hi Amanda, I think about my kids safety all the time and what kind of life they will have when they are grown and I am gone. Praying safety all around! My father was in the military and has retired. Many thanks for your service. Your neighbor on fmf today.
Thanks. I always try to remember to thank families as well. They sacrifice so much as well. Thanks for the prayers. Praying for your kids as well.
I tend to think to the future… and how we must prepare for that…and it’s not always so safe either eh?
Live in the moment while seeing the hope of the future, trust in God’s hand on everything, and teach/train your children to do the same.
visiting from FMF.
I agree we need to live in the here and now and don’t let waiting for someday to be here so we can chase our dreams.
You’re so right, Amanda. It’s not safe – none of it.
When I realized this, I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t avoid necessary danger, but I wouldn’t go ‘thrillseeking’. Death had to mean something. There had to be a mission.
Still does.
#1 at FMF this week.
I like that, you can’t live your life hiding from what might happens, but it is also good to have boundaries on what kind or risks you take.
Lovely post on safety in the world and in our family units. I have a military brother in law so I understand more about him when I read other soldier’s words. I hope you have a wonderful…safe…and simple weekend. Put your hands in your pockets 🙂 Love, Jenn FMF fellow writer
I love that through my words you can understand your family. I never thought of that being a gift I could give. Thanks for your kind words.
Some things to ponder here, Amanda. I think sometimes we think we have all the time in the world, but we really don’t know how long we have. So maybe we should loosen up and not worry, but try those things we may be dreaming of.
Blessings to you, dear Amanda!
So true. I think oh in a few years I can do this and that, but what is really stopping me from doing it now is myself.
They once asked Martin Luther what he’d do if he’d died tomorrow and he said “I’d plant a tree!” It always makes me think about how I should and will live my life. I’m in the 62 spot this week.
I was recently asked what I would do differently if I knew I was going to die in a year. And besides cutting back on social media I couldn’t think of what else I would change. Share my story, love my boys and live life!
This is really good Amanda. I bet being in the military gives you a different perspective on what it truly means to live life to the fullest. I am going to apply this principle in my own life.
Thanks Natalie. I never thought of it as a positive until I really started sharing my story and realized how important my voice is. 🙂