Vicar’s April Letter

Dear friends,

I am writing this letter on the day before I go away on holiday for a week. I have a list of things that I have to do before I go, I’m sure you know the feeling. Some of the things I have to do are Church things – writing this letter is one of them! I also have a couple of phone calls to make and a couple of emails to send. On top of that, I have some things to do with regard to going away. I need to pack for one thing. Sian tends to be organised days before we go anywhere and I tend to pack at the last possible moment. This drives her nuts. I don’t do it to drive her nuts, I just tend to do most things at the last moment and packing is not treated any differently. It doesn’t take me long and I’m always ready when I’m supposed to be. (Note: Sian may disagree with that statement! But she’s wrong. I’m always ready when we are supposed to go, just not necessarily 5 minutes before that time.)

Anyway, I was thinking about the idea of ‘things that need to be done before we go’ and it reminded me of the film ‘The Bucket List‘. Have you seen it? It’s not exactly a classic or Oscar material, but it’s a pleasant enough film for a relaxing evening and I recommend a viewing. The film stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally ill men who ‘escape’ from a cancer ward to go on a round-the-world trip doing all the things they wanted to do before they die. (Before they ‘kick the bucket’, hence ‘bucket list’.) There are some lovely moments as they share experiences and grow as friends, but, as you would expect from a film that ultimately is about dying, there are some sad moments too. (There’s a little bad language, but it’s not too bad.)

I think the film suffers a little because several of the ‘bucket list’ items require significant amounts of money and therefore the film distances its characters from most people watching, Nonetheless, the idea of having a list of things that you want to do before you die is an interesting one. I encourage you to think about it. I put together a list some years ago and have revised it several times since. If you really think about this you might find that most of the things on your list are to do with relationships and shared experiences rather than just doing what you want to do. As Christians we might also think about what we would like to leave behind us, what difference we would want to have made, how we would want to be remembered, whose lives we would want to have impacted and in what ways.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this idea and would love to hear about items on your list if you have one or put one together. I would be happy to share some things on my list if you are interested.

Anyway, I’d better go and pack soon. I don’t want to be in trouble with Sian!

God bless