"Life is too short"
How often have I heard that phrase and never really
understood the significance of it?
The Bible says, "Life is like a vapor." It is.
It's here only for what seems like a moment and then like a puff of
smoke, it's gone.
As I've grown older I find myself celebrating fewer births
and weddings. Instead I attend more
funerals. In the past three years I've
lost at least a dozen close friends and family members.
No one expects to die.
No one wakes up one morning and plans on having their life cease at a
precise moment and location.
Sometimes death is long and drawn out. Sometimes it happens in a wink of eye. It is no respecter of age, gender or station
in life. It is the great
equalizer. Like birth, all humans have
death in common. As our preacher has a
habit of saying, "You'll never see a U-Haul trailer hitched to a hearse.
Since my retirement I've had a lot of time to think about
life, living and death. I've come to
realize that all those things that seemed so important to me when I was younger
(career, family, fame, fortune) mean very little if nothing at all.
The best anyone can hope for is that their life meant
something. Not to themselves, but to
others. What impact did they have on
other people's lives? Were they
kind? Did they give more than their
money? Did they give their time? Did they tell the people close to them that
they were important and loved? Did they
place God first in their life. If they
did, everything else was taken care of.
When my time comes I don't want a big funeral. A simple memorial service over my cremated
ashes. I want my family and friends to
celebrate my life, remember the good times and know that I loved them.
With so much time on my hands I've come to appreciate just being
still and quiet. There's no reason to
rush. No urge to accomplish great
things. Long-held terrestrial goals
seem to fade and disappear. I'm content
just to be alive and spend time with my wonderful wife, visit my friends,
attend church and take a big breath and 'chillax' as my daughter puts it.