Comments on: You Have 13 Years Left To Live. Go!

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:30:00 +0000

What a truly inspirational thought/challenge. Rather than be concerned about what i havent done yet: trips, passions, hobbies etc….i can start focusing and enjoying the steps along the way.
Balance= being happy with where you are, what you have and where youre going! Its all about the path you choose and to keep moving.
Thank you and God bless!

By: Mary Ann Kuehn

Mary Ann Kuehn — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:56:10 +0000

Thank you for telling us about Jesse. What a beautiful way to have handled his 13 years! How many of us are that brave and wise?

I’m learning though, from you and Kim, and now am learning about the St. Ignatious Spiritual Exercises which is teaching me to make the most of getting closer to God.

Once again, thanks for all you do and share with us.

And a belated Happy Birthday!

By: Walt

Walt — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:31:19 +0000

Kim, I was moved by your story about Jesse’s life. It caused a sleepless night in Peru, IL.
I was thinking, I’ve already lived over 4x longer than Jesse.
I’m betting that if I could figure it out I’ve wasted 13 years of my life.
I do remember being 13 years old. I remember wondering: I can’t wait until I get my license, when do I start shaving, when will this ugly zit go away and then the next day another one, rats, will I ever find “my” girl, will I get married, will I have a family, will I even get out of high school alive, what career path will I take, and do I even have any talents? All of these I have done, but not Jesse, but maybe he has done more.
How much time do I have left? 13 minutes, 13 hours, 13 weeks, 13 years.
As I drifted to sleep and back to awake I couldn’t help but think about a co-worker very ill hoping for more quality time or my son’s in law clinging to life wishing she could roll back the clock, or my kindergarten buddy that broke through ice on the river last month with maybe 13 minutes of life left if it wasn’t for a series of miracles.
See the wall of China and write that book both struck a raw nerve for me. Two life goals of mine. The China thing is more of a fantasy. But the book is a possibility. Jan. 1, 2010 stated out with hope of finally getting that book done. But Laziness set in again. Wasting my time as I often have done, being lazy, “loafing” is the old school word. Don’t get me wrong. A little lazy is OK but a lot of lazy is just wrong. God gave us a precious gift of minutes and once they are gone, they are lost.
So moving forward.
Are you (me) a Jesse? Are you going to use your time wisely or are you going to waste away your minutes?
We can’t control the number of minutes we have left but we definitely do control how we use them!

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:03:10 +0000

Hi Kim:

Wow…thank you for sharing this. I am sorry to hear about this tragedy of a life cut short, but as you so nicely put it, it is a chance for us to learn and a reminder to live with more passion.

Somewhat related to this topic is a book by Patti Digh called Life is a Verb…is about her stepdad who died 37 days after finding out he had cancer. Like your post, it is a constant reminder to live fully.

By: Frank Reed

Frank Reed — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:16:34 +0000

Jason – If I had only 13 years or six months to live I know one thing I would strive for regardless of the situation (health, etc). That would be to draw closer to the Lord and seek His will in my remaining time. Anything that comes from that will be a life well lived.

By: Kristie Ryan

Kristie Ryan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:10:21 +0000

Hi Kim,

First of all I’d like to say sorry about your friend. My brother went to school with a young boy who passed away from cancer around that age. I couldn’t help but think how sad that was and how it’s even more sad that kids are wasting their days on video games and such. (though I know they don’t realize what a waste that truly is).

I’m so glad to hear he lived such a rich life and was able to do some amazing things with it, things that someone could be proud of at any age, but especially his. It’s very inspiring. I look forward to taking your challenge, though it’ll take some good thinking time to take advantage of it :)