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Filling Up On Perspective


I am gassing up my car on the way home from work yesterday when I notice a young boy on the other side of the pump staring at my car. I know he’s intrigued so I break the ice and say hi. “Is that a Lamborghini?” he asks, ignoring my greeting. I laugh and explain it isn’t, it is a Corvette. I tell him I have wanted one since I was five years old, but just in the last few months I finally got one. He’s standing in the shadow of the pump, but his eyes are so wide and bright, I can see them dancing with excitement and wonder. I remember back to being a young boy myself and staring at a Corvette in the very same way, dreaming about owning one someday.

I invite him to take a closer look, and as he steps out from behind the pump, I can see he has no eyebrows and the only hair on his head is in sparse whisps. Clearly this little boy is battling cancer. I think of myself as that young boy wishing for a Corvette, having my whole life in front of me: all the dreams, expectations, and audacious ambitions of a grade-school boy. I contrast that with the boy standing in front of me whose wish is to simply grow up. When I was his age, I would dream about my future, and he is wondering if he will even have one.

It’s a very somber drive home as I muse on my life and a young boy who is fighting for his. And although the car I am driving is a dream come true of sorts, it is not what makes my life so precious. It’s the simple yet vital things in my life making it so fulfilling and wonderful. It’s feeling my wife nuzzled up against my shoulder as I fall asleep. It’s a smile from my two-month-old son. It’s my other kids rushing into the garage to greet me when I come home from work. It’s working with people I love in a career that feels more like a calling than a job or a business. It’s the sun rising above the mountains of Anchorage, Alaska every morning, inviting me to enjoy the gift of a new day.

The car seems quite insignificant at this point. And I am so thankful for a little boy who stopped me in my tracks to give me a huge dose of perspective and for reminding me how blessed I really am. Reminding me how precious life is. Reminding me every day is a gift. And even though he has no idea, that little boy is challenging me to not squander a single one.

I thought I was stopping for gas, but I ended up leaving with a full tank of perspective.

Comments

  1. KristaJune 1, 2020 at 5:37 PM

    Beautiful Chad, we are a blessed people with a God who loves us so much! I appreciate how he gives us a personal message when we have an open heart to receive it! In today’s world it is so important to remember the blessings and be the Gift to one another. Thanks for your gifted words! Saying a prayer for the sweet little boy you encountered, that he might be blessed with many more gorgeous Alaska sunrises and sunsets!

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