Lots of people have bucket lists. Some hope to accomplish some harrowing experience like skydiving or bungee jumping. Others hope to summit all of the fourteeners (the peaks that are 14,000 feet or higher) in Colorado. Still others want to travel to some exotic place. As I am writing this in April, yesterday saw thousands of people make a once in a lifetime trip to locations in the United States where they could view the total eclipse of the sun. I was intrigued as I heard on the news this morning that hundreds of people were married at Niagara Falls during the eclipse. One couple was quoted as saying they wanted to marry then because the sun and the moon were one and they wanted to become one then too.
Bucket lists vary greatly from person to person. They are often those things that seem just barely reachable that you hope to achieve or experience before your life is over. But I must admit that I sometimes wonder about the significance of these lists. I mean, not to burst anyone’s bubble, but If I experience bungee jumping, is that going to somehow be significant when I am no longer alive?
I was recently on a phone call with my friend Gary Chapman. If the name sounds familiar, he is the well-known author of the book, “The Five Love Languages.” He is 86, still traveling and speaking (70 times last year). His book has made him more money than I can fathom. So, why is he not sitting on a beach somewhere relaxing? Someone once asked him what was on his bucket list? He thought for a minute and replied, “One thing. To accomplish all that God has for me to do while I am alive.” Now that’s a significantly meaningful bucket list.