A few days ago I came up with the idea for my wife and I to come up with a series of questions for each other and then to interview each other on camera. I really wanted to capture the spontaneous answers and emotions that might come up. I thought it would be too easy to come up with the perfect answer unless we were somewhat constrained by time. Also, not knowing the questions beforehand would really make us think on our feet. She was more excited about the idea than I thought she would be, and went to work on her questions for me. I already had 16 questions down for her.
Last night after we put our son to bed, she came into our bedroom with her list of 16 questions. We decided to set the camera up right there and just go for it. Once I got set up, we sat beside each other and turned the camera on. After I asked her 4 questions, it was her turn. “If you had exactly 5 minutes with your Grandfather right now, how would you spend it?”
Wow. I wasn’t expecting that at all. The flood of emotions that filled me was a bit overwhelming.
A bit of background… My grandfather passed away 10 years ago, before I accepted Christ as my Saviour. Not only was I unsaved, but I was about as worldly as one man could be. The exact opposite of my grandfather. During the last few years of his life, I was generally nowhere to be found. I missed his last years because I was too busy being a drug addicted selfish wretch. I admired him more than anyone in my life. Long story short, He was always there for me and I was not there for him.
Back to the question. As I fought back the tears, I was finally able to say, “first, I would apologize for not being there for him. That wouldn’t take long, because he would stop me and tell me that it was ok. Then I would spend the next 4 1/2 minutes celebrating and praising God that this would not be the last time we got to see each other, that we would now be able to spend eternity together in the presence of God.”
Psalm 34:3 O magnify Jehovah with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I can think of no better way to spend 5 minutes than that.
