Death and Life...

If you had only a short time to live, what would you do with the time you had left? Life's brevity has once again forced its way into my thoughts. Someone close to me just had a heart attack. My father-in-law has lung cancer. Someone we were friends with a long time ago had a tragic accident and died. And we are all aging... With both my parents and my mother-in-law already gone to Heaven, it doesn't seem so far away as it once did. We are all closer to death than we want to admit. We are all terminal. We just don't know when our time is.

These thoughts may seem morbid to you, but they really aren't. I am not afraid to die. But I am not ready to die in the sense that I love the life God has given me. I love my family and friends. I treasure those relationships and don't want to give them up yet. I enjoy where God has placed me. I want to serve Him and be all I can today. While I have breath and strength, I want to do His will.

So back to my first question. What would you do with your time if you only had today? Or a week? Or a month? Or a lifetime, however long or short? Does the amount make a difference?  Would you live differently if you knew when your end was coming? I am sure I would, but a part of me hopes I wouldn't change all that much. I hope I am living in the place I am supposed to be, doing what God wants and fullfilling the desires He has put in me. I hope my love for those in my life is evident. I am still working on that!

One friend bought a new truck because he thought he should enjoy what time he has left. Another person just refuses to accept the inevitable, denying what is ahead.  We are all different; we would all face the possibility of death differently.

I would want to restore a broken relationship. I want to do that now, but don't know how. I would be even more intentional in sharing the hope I have in Christ. I would write letters, call those whom I care about. I would let my friends know how important they are to me. I would tell my children and my husband how much they mean to me. I would deepen my relationship with Christ. I would...

Why not do those things now? I already know that I don't know how long on Earth I have, or you have. So shouldn't I live as if the end is near and not get all caught up in what is unimportant? In Sunday School we are talking about margin. We discussed how often the urgent takes precedence over the important. How many times do we ask others to wait while we finish a task when we could have shown them some love and consideration right then? Sometimes the moment vanishes to never come again. We have all lost those moments and have had regrets.

I want to live in the present with my eye on the future. I want to plan for what is ahead, but not miss out on what is in front of me. Want to join me in this adventure and see what joys our hearts will gather together?