Perfect Birthday Gift

July 27, 2009. 37 years to the day from the time of my birth.

I write this not out of melancholy about growing older, nor to garner attention for the day. I write out of consideration of the gift of life that God has given me.

I once talked with my wife about making my own coffin. I love to do woodworking and leather crafting, so I am pretty sure that I could make a pretty cool coffin. I would probably put shelves in it so that it could be a useful bookcase or cabinet until I needed it for its primary purpose. I even downloaded plans from the internet.

My wife just gave me that look that she occasionally gives me when I come up with ideas like this. The look say, ‘I love you, but I think you are a bubble off of plumb.” She wasn’t too keen on the idea of having a coffin around.

Yes, I know this is weird, but track with me for a bit.

I figured out quite some time ago that life starts slow, in grade school, one year of life feels like it takes about a decade to complete (especially in math class). But sometime after your teens, life starts to go in fast forward. Each year, it gets faster and faster. I’m pretty sure that my final years will be reduced to minutes.

Again, this is not meant to be a maudlin commentary about the speed of life or my passing youth.

I just want some sort of constant reminder of the value of the time given us. I think that I might waste less time and resources if I have some sort of visual touchstone like my own coffin.

I wonder, would I spend any more money on ‘toys’ instead of using it to help others?

I wonder, would I waste any more time on video games or randomly surfing the net instead of spending time with my wife and daughter?

I wonder, would I spend so much time doing ministry work instead of investing time in the people that I am called to serve.

The problem with birthdays, funerals, and New Years day is that we so easily make resolutions to change, to focus on the important things. Yet, these things quickly go out the window as the day to day distractions of life step in. We pay bills, we lust after new toys (which usually leads to more bills), we go to work, we work on the house, we get our oil changed, we busy ourselves with hobbies. How quickly we forget our resolutions and begin wasting what little time we have.

This is why I want my own coffin. It can serve as a reminder that just won’t go away. Even if it starts to fade into the background of my own busy-ness, other people will remind me as they see it in my office or at the house.

In fact, I think this would make a great birthday gift that I could make for other people. A fine oak box, carved with beautiful designs and lined in fine leather, useful for a coffee table or a book case. Just picture the look on the person’s face as they open their birthday present from me and find a coffin.

Perhaps my wife is right, I just might be a bubble off of plumb.