(Updated to correct the circumstances...I had misinformation earlier)
My heart is heavy today. A young man in our area was killed in a freak accident yesterday. He was helping in the removal of a tree from someone's yard. The tree split, fell on him and killed him. 25 years old. I know his family, but not well. I haven't seen him since he was a teenager. My memories of him are faint, at best.
Yet I can't stop thinking about his parents and the agony they must feel. Our Sunday School class was just discussing how we'll do everything for a last time on earth.
Wake up for the last time.
Drink a cup of coffee for the last time.
Tell your spouse you love him/her for the last time.
Hug your child for the last time.
Most of us don't know when that last time will be. I'd never thought about that before...not really.
Because if I had, maybe I would've opened the curtains and appreciated the sunrise this morning. Instead, I groused about getting up while it's still dark outside. Maybe I'd be savoring my Starbucks morning blend with pumpkin spice creamer. Instead, I practically chugged it down so the caffeine will kick in sooner. Maybe I would've stopped to tell R how deeply he has impacted my life and that I could never let him know how much he means to me. Instead, I quickly brushed his lips, muttered "I love you" and rushed out the door. Maybe I wouldn't have let CJ get out of the car in such a bad mood this morning, and would have squeezed the stuffin' out of her. Instead, she walked away in a huff, and I drove away in one, too.
There are days I'm so caught up in the menial, frustrating, laborious tasks of life that I don't think about living. Life isn't perfect. It isn't supposed to be, or we'd want to stay here forever. We wouldn't long for Heaven.
Still, we can enjoy our time here. Cherish our loved ones. Be thankful for simple pleasures. Not take for granted that this couldn't possibly be the last time we'll have this person, place or thing. This young man's mother didn't know she would never hear his voice again. He didn't know he would never talk to his mom again. They didn't know the last time they were together was the last time.
Whatever we do today could be the last time. Kinda' makes you think, doesn't it?
4 comments:
It sure does. I would act very differently, I hope, if I thought every minute could be my very last. Thanks for the reminder.
What if we were to live each moment as if it were our last? That's exactly what we should be doing. Not dreading the end, but looking forward to, even longing for it. As difficult as it is to imagine, it's even harder to imagine not being prepared. My heart goes out to the family and friends of that young man. I will remember them in my prayers.
You know, Melissa, that's something we hear over and over again and it just doesn't register with us. What if today were our last day? Imagine if we knew when we got up that this was our last day.
Imagine what we'd do with that day.
We'd be frantic to try to touch everyone we love and make sure they knew it. And some of those we love are across the country so it would be a phone call. Imagine.
How sad that we don't remember this every single hour we're alive and go out of our way to make sure the feelings we have about the people we love are ALWAYS known to them.
When my husband walks out the door for the day, I always ask myself, what if I never see him alive again? Does he know how much I love him? When's the last time I made sure he knew? I do the same thing with my daughters, my mother, all my loved ones.
We must remember to make sure they know. Every. single. day.
I'm so sorry for that young man and his family. What a tragic, senseless way to lose a loved one.
Let it be a reminder to us all. You never know when you're spending your last few minutes in this earthly world. We must make sure they know we love them, enough that it will comfort them until we're reunited n God's kingdom.
Thank you for this reminder. xoxoxo
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