PRACTICE – Make a short list of your most valuable assets
Every now and then (usually on the recommendation of a stranger that my husband has engaged), we venture into a restaurant that is above our economic status. Often it is not the cost of the meal that helps me to know that we are in over our heads but the extras that are listed on the menu. Such was the case on our anniversary short getaway. There on the menu – ½ oz. of cognac for $98, 2oz for $345 – and “NO” we were not tempted to order either. However, my husband jokingly inquired about a drop to taste – the answer was a resounding, “NO.”
We were intrigued by the pricey drink, so we asked our server, “Why does this liquor cost so much?” She didn’t know but sent the wine expert to our table and thus begun the education about a cognac that had been aged for 150 years. Let’s put that in perspective, the USA is only 241 years old. The average life expectancy for women is 74 years and 70 for men. That means the creator never saw or tasted the final product. However, he or she left behind something of great value at least to those who like cognac. And even if you don’t drink, you can appreciate the process of keeping it alive and aging for 150 years.
The cognac had to be nurtured and cared for by someone(s) during the maturing period. Did the original maker know this creation would be of such value? I doubt it. It was created and set aside, perhaps with instructions by the creator on what to do to keep it from spoiling.
I see us all over this story. We are being reinvented and reshaped daily. We plant seeds in others daily. The seeds that we plant – whether negative or positive – will live long after we pass on to the great beyond. Our responsibility is to live our best lives. We haven’t any clue to the pearls of great value that we may be creating. Since we are clueless to what those pearls will be – I think it prudent and wise that we create something while we can that has the potential to mature into something that others will find valuable long after we are gone.
1 Peter 4:10
PONDER THIS THOUGHT – I want others to remember me for _________. Of course, you have little or no control what is remembered.
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