B is for BORING

Someone bought me a book last Christmas. It was called '101 things to do before you're old and boring.' I took some comfort from the title, in that the giver of the present must have thought that at present I still wasn't old and probably not boring. Yet the title itself worried me just a tad. First I couldn't understand how the authors had arrived at the magical figure of one over the hundred. It was as if they had thought of everything and then, almost too late, something else had cropped into their minds. Anyway it's an overworked title, as the bookshops are full of tomes like 101 places to see before you die, 101 countries to visit before you're twenty one. Why I even have an old book at home that suggests 101 things to do with a dead cat! Not very illuminating! So the title is a bit boring. But the other perceived message in the title is that old in itself is boring. Have you ever tried to talk to a teenager in the throws of adolescence? Better still, you've been a teenager in the throws of adolescence. Not very communicative, were we? Not very interesting, were we? Maybe just bordering on the boring, weren't we? Compare that with the experience of life that emits from one of our senior citizens, even the most boring ones and you begin to get the picture. Anyway, who hasn't met the twenty, thirty, forty or fifty year old who already bored you with their lack of conversation or their abundance of it. And are those words, 'I'm bored' not on the lips of children all over the world, even with all the entertainment forms available today.

When I opened the book, I got an even bigger shock. For inside, there was a warning. It goes something like this - 'For some of the things to do you will need the supervision of an adult. The authors and publisher accept no responsibility for any accidents that occur as a result of using this book.' Now isn't that great? I discover the book is for children and written by totally irresponsible authors who don't want to know when we do what they suggest and it all goes horribly wrong. But it's not all bad. I soon discover that I am probably too old to attempt some things therein like number 73 - 'have a sleepover' (most of my mates are nearly fifty and would want to bring their families too), number 83 - 'dye your hair' ( what's left is white) or number 44 - 'teach your grandparents something new.' ( something tells me they may not be listening right now) , have already done others, like number 88 -'blame someone else' or number 86 - 'sing in front of an audience' or even number 36 - 'Start your own blog.' (are you reading this?). In a few years I'll be able to accomplish some of the other things without even having to try, like number 21 -'sleep all day' or number 10 - 'have an embarrassing moment and get over it' or even number 46 - 'go as fast as you can.' Some I accept I will never accomplish, like number 12 - 'paint a picture good enough to hang on a wall' or number 99 - 'be a vegetarian for a week.'

But the book has made me think. About life, our goals and our accomplishments. And strangely enough, there are some tasks that we should all be thinking about trying to achieve. Like number 71 - 'do something nice without being asked,' number 26 - 'help save the planet,' number 43 - 'do something charitable' or number 32 - 'visit.' But what if we could do number 27 - 'turn back time?' What would you change about your life to this point. I don't think that's what the author intended but I wonder is your life and mine what the great Author of life intended. I'm intrigued by number 101, the very last entry. It's appropriate that it should end the book. Here's what it says- 'Decide what you want to be when you grow up.' The last piece of advice says, 'once you've decided what you want to do, start planning how you're going to achieve it and seek advice from those who have made it.'

If you're a Christian and reading this, maybe now is the time to 'grow up' in your faith and find what God wants you to do. So start planning and seek advice from the Author Himself, for He accepts all responsibility for what He has written and done. As Paul says, 'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.' If you haven't considered God in your life yet, maybe there's one more entry for that book before you're old and boring!