Better Get to Livin'

There are times in life when days seem like years, dragging by at a snail's pace, seeming like they will never end. Days when I'm sick or exhausted or stressed or sad or hurt or overworked. And then there are days that fly by as quickly as a bird on the wind, seeming like they are over almost as quickly as they began. Days when I'm happy or having fun or laying in my hammock or grilling or speaking or writing ... or days when my family or friends come to visit me; those days rush by like water tumbling over the rocks in a mountain stream. And then there are days when I simply know that God is trying to get my attention, that He's got something He wants me to hear and believe and soak in.

When my friend from Tennessee called to tell me she was coming to my house for the weekend, I made up my mind that I would put on my happy face and not let her see the sadness that has wrapped its tentacles around my heart over the last months. I told myself I would summon every ounce of willpower I had within me to pretend that I was the same happy-go-lucky gal I used to be. Funny ... people who know you ... or who have known you in the past ... have a way of seeing past a pretend smile or hearing past a shadowed "I'm fine."

Yesterday morning when I returned from my solitary walk at dawn, my friend was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. After eating out on my deck, she suggested that we watch a movie since it was too early to mow the lawn or weedeat, which I had told her the night before I had to do. I agreed and said that she could choose the movie. She smiled and said, "I already have," and turned on the television and DVD player. We then spent the next two and a half hours watching The Shawshank Redemption ... a wonderful movie and one of my son Brad's favorites. While the whole film is great, there was one scene in particular that my friend wanted to be sure I paid attention to, backing up the DVD and making me watch it several times. Andy and Red are talking about getting out of prison, and Red says that he could never make it on the outside because he's spent most of his life incarcerated. And then Andy delivers one of the most famous lines in movie history ... "I guess it comes down to a simple choice really ... get busy living or get busy dying."

When the movie was over, we headed outside to work in the yard and as I reached for my iPod so that I could listen to music while I did the weedeating, my friend insisted that I use hers instead, saying that there was a song she wanted me to hear. I was surprised when I instantly recognized the singer as Dolly Parton ... I cut my teeth hearing Dolly sing with Porter on the Grand Ole Opry because my dad watched it every single week. The song was Better Get to Livin', and true to Dolly form, it's got a lot of lyrics. I'm going to close this post with only part of them, but first ... think about what I said in the first paragraph of this post. Some days, God is simply trying to get my attention ... some days He's got something He wants me to hear and believe and soak in. Think about it. Oh, and I downloaded Dolly's Backwoods Barbie CD to my iPod this afternoon ... I'm just sayin'.

"I said you'd better get to livin', givin'
Be willing and forgivin'
Cause all healing has to start with you
You better stop whining, pining
Get your dreams in line
And then just shine, design, refine
Until they come true
And you better get to livin'.

You better get to livin', givin'
A little more thought about bein'
A little more willin' to make a better way
Don't sweat the small stuff
Keep your chin up
Just hang tough
And if it gets too rough
Fall on your knees and pray
And do that everyday
Then you'll get to livin'.

The day we're born we start to die
Don't waste one minute of this life
Get to livin'
Share your dreams and share your laughter
Make some points for the great hereafter."