Real Life by Peggi Tustan

Welcome to Real Life. How do we live fully? “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” –James Dean “I wish I had done more for God when I could, when I was strong and healthy,” my sister Theresa told me. She was in hospice care and contemplating the day she would stand before God and give an account of her life. Rather than contemplate this day of reckoning—some unknowable date in the future—we are more often encouraged to “Carpe diem!” [1]  Life is short, tomorrow is not promised, so make the most of this day. Book the flight. Laugh out loud. Eat dessert first. Don’t just live. Live fully! The Bible actually gives similar encouragement: Redeem the time. [2] Make the most of this day. But not by squeezing in as much pleasure as possible. Rather, fill this day with God and with good. Redeem the time because this life is fleeting. It is like a morning mist that disappears when the sun rises. [3] The longer I live, the quicker the years disappear. So, live ful...

Welcome to Real Life . Relationships matter! It’s not what you know that will get you places. It's who you know. –Proverb I work for an international firm with thousands of employees. I know the name of our CEO. But I don’t know him personally. We’ve never met. He works out of our office in Athens, Greece (which is a bit of a drive from Cleveland). If perchance we passed in an airport, I might recognize him from photos. But he wouldn’t recognize me. He doesn’t know me. I simultaneously work for a massive corporation with offices in every city around the globe. When I joined the firm, I met our CEO. Though he runs a universal network of millions, he always takes my calls. In fact, he encourages me to reach out to him often throughout the day. He knows my name. He also knows my husband and kids, my favorite ice cream, my allergies, and the deepest secrets of my soul. Whether you’ve met him or not, God knows you, too. The God of the Universe knows you. Let that sink in a minute. What...

Welcome to Real Life . Death, where is your sting? “Some day you will read in the papers, ‘D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead.’ Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal.” –D.L. Moody (1837–99) Will I die of Coronavirus? Perhaps like me, you’ve asked yourself this question. Daily, the death toll rises from this insidious disease. We stay home. We wash our hands. We work from home. We worship at home. What if it’s not enough?  “I’m ready,” I told my son on the phone the other day. God has blessed me with a wonderful life. I don’t want to die. I have much to live for! But if I die, I’m content. I am a child of God. He knows me. He loves me. He protects me. I rest securely in his hands. My Heavenly Father has already determined the day of my death. If I die from Coronavirus, then God allowed it and nothing could keep me alive. A...

Welcome to Real Life . Jesus is alive. I spoke with him this morning. On the first Easter Sunday . . . “What are you two talking about?” the man asked. We’d been so deep in conversation. We didn’t notice the stranger walk up behind us. “You must not live around here. Everyone’s talking about it,” Cleopas answered. “About what?” the stranger asked. “What happened to Jesus of Nazareth, the prophet—no, he was more than a prophet. He spoke with the authority of a king. He opened blind eyes, raised the dead, even quieted a storm. Tell me. Who commands the wind and it obeys? And he spoke of God as his father. The religious leaders hated that. They accused him of blasphemy, arrested, and beat him. On Friday, they crucified him. “We’re trying to make sense of it. I mean, Jesus Christ was so powerful. Why did he let it happen? We believed in him. We thought he was the One, the Messiah. Now he’s de-ad!” Cleopas's voice cracked. He wiped away a tear. “That’s not all,” I con...

Welcome to Real Life . It (real life) is full of disappointments. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Lazarus was ill, seriously so. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” They fully expected Jesus to come and heal their brother. For, Jesus was more than their Lord. He was their friend. But, Jesus did not come—immediately. He delayed two days. And, Lazarus died. When Jesus finally arrived, the sisters’ greetings are heavy with disappointment. "If only you had been here…" I've felt their disappointment—keenly: when my first husband left and never returned, while drowning in postpartum depression, when my father-in-law lay ill 18 years, when my mom lost her legs, when my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Lord, if only you had been here. These things would not have happened. Life would be good, as it should be. I know you, Lord. I am your follower and your friend. Why didn...