Thursday, February 2, 2012

Author of our lives

My Life as a Book

Is it penned by many authors,
Each persuading, pushing, even playing on my emotions
To write what should be my story?

When I was born, I held the pen in my hand;
It was my book to write,
My name to go on the cover.
Oh, I had such ambitions as I grew older,
Ambitions for good, meaningful, praiseworthy accomplishments.

But over time, "they" told me that the life I was writing
For myself
Couldn't sell as well as the life they had in mind for me.
I wanted my life to matter--to be acceptable. Right?
So I loosened my grip on my book,
And let others write their words
Into my book.

Yes, it was still my book,
Maybe not so much inside anymore.
But if people were to pick it up
And look at the cover,
It would be my name they'd see.

Couldn't I just show those readers the pages,
Written by people who promised they were looking out for my best interests?
"Look, I didn't write those things
For my life.
They promised it would make my life better."

By now, you know that's not possible.
For in each of the books of our lives,
When the final chapter is written,
And our legacy is read by those who follow,
It will be my name, your name, on the covers of our own books;
Our names inextricably connected with who we were on this earth,
Imprinted on the hearts of our friends, loved ones, colleagues, even strangers.

Whether we have as partners in the authorship of our books
People who influenced our lives for better,
Or for worse,
The final editing is always our choice.

My book is still being written.
Many of the words I'd rather be erased are, nevertheless,
Indelibly etched into the pages.

But today, I start a new chapter,
And I welcome your input.
But please keep in mind,
Since it's my name on the cover--
My legacy after I leave this earth,
I will prayerfully decide,
Along with whatever God wills,
how the rest of the book turns out.

Also, may we all remember,
That our attempts to influence
The stories of other people's lives
Will be reflected in the pages of our own books.

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