What if we only lived 10 years

Photo by Blake Meyer on Unsplash

IMAGINE if God had designed human life to expire after just ten years. Try to think how that might challenge and change our perspective.

Could it be a worthy reflection, today?

What if we only had two years to grow through infancy, childhood and adolescence to adulthood. What if we married and had less than five or six years with our partner. What if we only ever had a three or four-year career. What if the final two or three years of our lives involved ageing.

I guess it’s a moot point, being that most people get nearly ten times that amount of life.

A near 100-year life should never be thought of as a curse, but perhaps complacency causes us all to take life for granted occasionally. If we lived ten years, with a 100-year life perspective, we sure wouldn’t waste one drop or one breath of life. If ten years was all we had, surely we would do with our lives what can never be done when we’re dead.

If we add the same logic to our near 100-year lifespans we should say why are we not given one-thousand? Even one-hundred years is miniscule in comparison with nine-hundred more. But, as any of us truly knows one-hundred years is more than enough, especially if we’re in chronic pain and/or our hope is to meet Jesus. Still, we suffer loss when we lose our parents and grandparents, just as our children and grandchildren will suffer the same anguish. Where there is life there is pleasure and pain.

What if our lives only lasted ten years. If we bore that in mind we might be more present, more grateful. Of course, a near 100-year life means we’re also rewarded for tenacity and perseverance.

Life is a sprint and it’s a marathon.
Run each stride with purpose and every mile with poise.

Live life with gratitude for time is fleeting, and with perseverance for the long haul.

Be present for yourself and with others, making the most of the present day.