Within the past couple of days I
received news that two family members are on their deathbeds, one given a few
days to live, the other a couple of months. Life is finite, that is no secret.
Not one of us can escape the hour when we will take our last breath on this
earth. Typically we don’t wake up asking ourselves if today will be that day.
No one knows the exact time. We all know we must die, but when we are told we
have an approximate period of time to live it becomes so much more real.
I think I reflect on death more
than your conventional person because of losing both parents to cancer. I
remember hearing that dreaded phrase, “You have x-number of months to live.”
This is why I try to live my life to the fullest. I travel, I tell people I
love them, I forgive, I try to be as kind as I can be, and I eat what I want
when I have a craving. I refuse to allow my finances dictate how I’m going to
enjoy life. I usually have enough resources to do what I want because I choose
to be content with what I have. I don’t live life to impress anyone else, nor
to accommodate anyone’s idea of how I should live my life. I know that I am on
this earth only because God allowed it to be so, and realize that this is my
temporary home. I am imperfect. I screw up, I get up again, and thank God for
His mercy. My future is secure in Him.
Hearing the recent bad news finds
me once again contemplating the brevity of life. Don’t spend your last days
lamenting the past. Make your life count from today on! Do the things you want
to do, always keeping God in the forefront. Free yourself by forgiving others,
spend less on brand names and more on memories, don’t cancel plans with family
in order to get more work done. Spend less time being upset at your significant
other and more time demonstrating why you fell in love with them in the first
place. Craving dessert? Eat it! In public and get the urge to dance? Do it!
What stories do you want to
leave behind with your loved ones? Let their grief be replaced by loving memories.
