Her Heart Gave Out

Last week I took Hudson for his second vet appointment. While there, I started talking to the ladies that work there. They remembered my last dog, Bailey, very well. They loved Bailey...Actually, everyone loved Bailey, but Bailey loved everyone more. While talking to them they mentioned something that caught my attention and has made me think.

Bailey had passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly for my family. The lady said that when Bailey passed away, she was an incredibly healthy dog...medically speaking. The conclusion that the vet came to? That her heart gave out. Bailey literally gave life her everything up to the last minute that her heart stopped beating.

What an incredible way to live and the best way to die. 

It sounds so silly modeling life after my sweet Bailey. However, why wouldn't I? I want to live a life so passionate, enthusiastic, and wild that when it is time to die, my heart gives out.  Bailey loved life, never had an off day, and always gave it her all. Too many times we let life happen to us. We get lazy or we fall into the daily routine of things. We never experience each day to its fullest because we are just trying to make it to the next meeting, next appointment, next holiday. I know, trust me, I am the first to fall into that category. However, when looking at the evidence around Bailey, I don't think this is how Baileys' heart gave way. No, Bailey died because you should have seen the enthusiasm she had for the same walk that we did day after day after day around the lake. Or the "happy circles" that happened every time my dad walked through that front door. Or even the excitement she had over the same dog food in her bowl for the past ten years. Get my point? Too easily we can let life happen to us by living half way, but that's not how you die by your heart giving out.

So my challenge to myself and anyone else is to live a life where your heart gives out first. Go to the next meeting with a passion of pursuing your best. Come home from work with an enthusiasm to conquer the world. Go to your next appointment with an excitement to be living a life that God has called you to live. Because wherever you are at the moment, God has called you there, but God hasn't called a halfhearted person to accomplish His will. He has called someone to go full heartedly.