Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Do you have a bucket list?

By now you have probably seen the advertisements for the movie "The Bucket List." It has me thinking about a list of things I would like to do before I "kick the bucket." So here is my list, in no particular order.

1. Visit Machu Piccu. It is an ancient Incan village in Peru at an elevation of 7900+ feet. It takes several days to get there on foot through a series of tunnels, bridges and narrow paths. It just looks awesome to me. It predates Columbus' discovery of the New World and is remarkably well-preserved. I've seen some Mayan ruins in Guatemala, and I would like to visit Tikal, but Machu Piccu trumps Tikal by far.


2. Visit the Missionaries of Charity mission in Calcutta, India. This is the mission founded by Mother Teresa to care for the poor, sick and dying members of India's lower castes. This is from Wikipedia: "Missionaries care for those who include refugees, ex-prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, abandoned children, lepers, AIDS victims, the aged, and convalescent. They have schools run by volunteers to educate street children, they run soup kitchens, as well as many other services as per the communities' needs. They have 19 homes in Kolkata alone which include homes for women, for orphaned children, and for the dying; an AIDS hospice, a school for street children, and a leper colony. These services are provided to people regardless of their religion."


3. Fly an airplane solo. I would love to get my pilot's license, but I've never devoted the time or money to that cause.

4. See my girls grow up and live God-honoring lives. That is all I can ask.

5. See Mount Everest. I have no desire to climb it. This stocky, middle-aged flatlander was sucking wind in Colorado. I believe my lungs would explode on Everest.

That pretty much sums up my list. There are a few things I would like to see AFTER I kick the bucket too. I'm hoping God has some sort of video archive of stuff I read about in the Bible. There are some things that would make for great viewing there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so funny Roy, I believe we have a similar "bucket"! I soooo want to see Machu Piccu as well; in fact, I've wanted to go on a mission trip in that area of the world since reading "The Sunflower".

Btw, I hope God does have that history video archive as well!

Alan said...

Roy,
When I was younger, I created a number of "bucket lists" which were dominated by fun activities which I wanted to experience.

However, my priorities have shifted. My focus has moved toward relationships. Like yourself, I want to see my children and grandchildren passionately follow Christ.

I also wish to see others come to experience the life-changing love of Christ. Jesus said that He didn't come to just provide us with fire insurance but so that we could fully live (rough paraphrase). I want to know Christ. I want to live as a fully engaged member of the Christian race in authentic relationships with people inside and outside the Christian family. I want to "do the work that God has called me to do."

And, I want to have as much fun as possible while doing it (yes, I still have those lists :-).