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Why is it only after a disappointment, that we usually hear the lament, “Well, that’s life!”? In short, life is what you make it. Literally, you’re the musician, and your hand is on the keyboard; now choose your tune! The Alcan Highway, that long, tedious span from America’s mainland to the forty-ninth State, crosses the wastelands of Canada. It was once a veritable vehicular obstacle course. Beset with potholes, and graveled (often, muddy) segments, it required strategic maneuvering just to navigate its length. At the starting point, someone facetiously posted a sign, “Choose your rut carefully; you’ll be in it for the next eight hundred miles!”

Someone defined a rut as a grave with both ends knocked out. Whatever your perspective, mostly we agree that life is rather mundane. We sing with renowned gospel song writer, Don Johnson, “Day after day, that’s what life is!” ‘Maestro’ Tim Spell, summed up the shelf-life of worldly entertainers: “It’s one big hoorah, then it’s suddenly over; their names fade from the lime-light.” Thankfully, he wisely chose the lowly—I hesitate to use that term; let’s call it the ‘humble’ life, of an itinerate Pentecostal preacher/singer/musician. He correctly estimates his popularity (shelf-life) is considerably longer than that of most of his worldly counterparts. It comes down to either being a dazzling meteorite, a momentary flash across the sky, or a dependable, course-steadying star.

What does “That’s life!” mean to you, weary pilgrim?

Nearly fifty years ago, as an aspiring young pastor, how did I view the task before me? Did I see the breathtaking vistas from the mountain tops I’d experience over the course of many years as a pastor? Was I enthralled at the possibility, or did I even have a faint hope, of shepherding the world’s greatest congregation, one that’s proved its love, devotion, and loyalty, over and over again? Did I envision the lovely wife that God would provide, and the added, most precious son and four beautiful daughters, priceless in-laws, and grandchildren in the world? What did my nineteen-year old eyes envision, or encompass? Not the death of a precious three-day old baby girl. Neither could I see the passing away of my dear mother, nor the tragic loss of Larry Kelly. I was blissfully unaware of the tremendous heartbreak I’d endure to see some of my closest friends and allies falter, stumble and quit the race. No one had posted the sign, warning me to “Choose your rut carefully; you’ll be in it for the next eight hundred miles!”

In His Divine Wisdom, our heavenly Father shields us from even the next moment of our lives. The Psalmist describes life this way, “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”

Life is made up of very small segments—not huge chunks of many miles! Think of these tiny steps as the Psalmist did, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” (You may take the “he” in the final clause either way: It is the Lord who delights in the way of a good man, and just as truly, a good man delights in the way of the Lord!) The sincere Christian lives his life, “One day at a time.” Jesus warned against worrying about tomorrow, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Be victorious over the challenges, and rejoice in the blessings of this day; tomorrow has its own set of challenges, disappointments, and victories! “That’s Life!”