A
few weeks ago, I was involved in a car accident. I was on my way headed to Mai
Mahiu to assist in the ground-breaking
and dedication ceremonies of some IDP houses that were being constructed by
Habitat For Humanity Kenya (HFHK). While on the way there, the car that I was
driving lost control due to some unknown mechanical problem and veered off the
road. By God’s help, neither I nor any of the other 2 passengers were hurt, no
passer(s)-by were injured and the car was only slightly damaged. I thank God
for keeping us alive!
Days
after this incident happened (all in a matter of seconds) I kept having
flashbacks of what happened and the endless possibilities of how the situation
could have ended up more worse….but I thank God it did not. During these times,
I had some reflection times where I wondered to myself, ‘if I would have died
on that day, what would I have taken with me? What would I have left that was
of value on the earth? Would millions of people mourn my death or celebrate the
life that I lived? In fact, would that many people even notice?’ These
questions led me to review and re-prioritize various issues in my life and I
seek to live this way for my whole entire life. I would like to share my top 3
with you….
Priority No. 1: GOD
Nothing
else in life matters more than my relationship with God! He is first in my
life. God is my creator and He created me with a purpose and endowed me with
gifts, strengths and abilities to make the purpose come alive. Therefore, my
top lesson was to always carve out time in my day to spend with the one to whom
I belong and will give an account to of my life.
And
this is the same for you…how is your walk with the Lord doing? Do you even know
Him?
Priority No. 2: FAMILY
After
God, my top priority in terms of human relations is to my family, i.e. my wife
and future children J.
Nothing in my life should come before them…not even work or the pursuit of
money and influence. As I was meditating in the days following the accident, I
realized how much I love my wife and I would be a fool to chase after
everything else in life and leave her out of my top priority list. It would be
so meaningless for me to rise to world-class fame only to realize that I left
her somewhere at the bottom….or even lost her altogether. I now treasure my
time with her more than ever. I don’t have a problem prioritizing what needs to
be done first in the workplace, so that I can be free to leave once it gets to
5 o’clock!
My
advice to those of you who are married…actively plan to spend time with your
family as often as possible! The returns on this investment are worth it.
Priority No. 3: LIFE PURPOSE
In
several motivational books, they call this ‘work’, ‘career’ or ‘vocation’. I,
on the other hand, call it your ‘purpose’ because I understand that when God
created us, He had a very specific thing that He wanted each one of us to
accomplish (Ephesians 2:20). Therefore, just as in the parable of the talents,
the Master is going to require an account of that which He entrusted you and me
with. What will your answer be? Will you have been a faithful, or an
unfaithful, steward? Will you realize at this point that you went off
accomplishing the purposes of others other than your own?
If
you do not know your purpose, I suggest you begin by asking the Dream-Giver
about your specific mission on earth. If you already know your purpose, I
encourage you to take an inventory of your life to see the general direction
its heading in.
