He Began With the End in Mind

My beautiful Christmas boy, David (born December 16th, 1992), never set a New Year’s resolution. 

Instead, each New Year’s Day, he’d take a walk in a lovely cemetery. No matter where he lived in the world –  Oxford, Washington, Shanghai, Cambridge, Philadelphia – he’d do this same strange but holy practice. 

He began with the end in mind.  He’d remind himself of mortality. 

Momento mori, echoing as he walked among the tombstones of people – elderly, middle-aged, youth, infants – momento mori, “remember death.” 

I admit I didn’t quite grasp that practice of his. I knew he did it and found it profound and intense. But I didn’t realize what a significant part of his New Year’s ritual this was until he shared it on a podcast interview through Harvard, post-diagnosis.

And now that his life on Earth is over, I sometimes wonder if this was a strange preparation for what would come to him. A premonition of sorts. 

Why do I tell you this? Because I, like David at the time, now have a perspective that is heightened. More real. I would encourage you this New Year to do what my beloved David taught me, and in fact, what God holds before us:

Momento mori. Remember death. You are dust. You are like grass that withers and fades (Psalm 37:2). You are mortal.

As we round the corner into 2022, I beg of you to seek more than this quick blip on the eternal calendar called your earthly lifespan. Seek more than this world offers.

Seek the eternal God. Seek His eternal way.

So much love to you this season and thank you for allowing us to serve you in 2021. We look forward to continuing to serve you in 2022.

~ Nancy and the NancyHicksLive team.

To grow deeper in your relationship with God, get Nancy’s AWAKEN course or Meant to Live book for gifts this season.