I sat at lunch with a grieving husband walking the painful path of watching his wife battle a terminal illness. I did not minister to him rather he ministered to me. Words of wisdom poured from his mouth and into my soul.
His wife recently told him that she felt like she was dying. He responded that she is indeed dying but not that day. That day they were still living and were going to live like they were living.
What does that mean you might ask? This special lady is indeed dying. She has less than a year left to live unless God chooses to do a miracle. She could spend her last months giving up and acting as if she were already dead. The husband could mope around in depression and act like his wife had already departed. Instead they are trying to make the most of the time they have left.
Over lunch he told me, "We have had a good run. We have been given far better than we deserve. We love each other and have told each other that everyday. Our kids love and serve God. It has been a good run."
How many of us take life for granted. How many married couples do not take the time to lovingly gaze in one another's eyes and say, "I love you. After all these years I still love you." How often do we take for granted a spouse reaching out for our hand or lovingly patting us on the back. How often do we hurriedly wolf down meals together without exchanging meaningful conversation.
How often do we take the time to lovingly hug our kids and tell them we love them and are proud of them. We rush about the rat race of life and then one day look up and the kids are grown and out of the house. With deep regret only then do we wonder where did the time go.
We work and work for years saving and scrimping hoping to have enough money at the end. Do we really take the time to enjoy the life we are already living. Do we have the wisdom to enjoy today because tomorrow is not promised.
My friend told me three months ago on a Thursday he and his wife were fine. They had great plans for the future. By the end of that Thursday their entire world was turned upside down when the doctors diagnosed his wife with this terminal condition. Everybody has a Thursday like that at some point in their lives. A moment with the brevity of life comes crashing through all our false sense of security and notions of immortality.
I got up this morning early and let the dog out. I walked with her outside. I am living today. I do not take for granted that I can walk. The day could come when I may not be able to walk on my own. Last night I slept next to Brenda, whom I have slept next to for the past 23 years. Often in the night we both reach out to touch one another. A loving hand on the bak, a gentle rub of the shoulder, or at times we interlock our fingers and hold hands while we sleep. Today I am living and enjoying the woman God has given me to share life with. We are both getting older and our bodes are aging but we are still LIVING!
In a couple of hours the five of us Edwards will go to our semi-annual dentist appointment. It will be a long morning of scraping, cleaning, and getting a check up for the five of us. Taylor will have to get his done on a break from college. Today I will live. The five of us will get to spend some time together granted, it will be at a dentist office. Afterward, we will eat together. I will treasure those moments as if they were in slow motion capturing each minute with snapshots in my heart. Today I will live.
I will enjoy the food savoring each bite. I will take in the different flavors and listen to my family talk. I will live. I will look at the trees, grass, the sky and be reminded of a God greater than me created those things. I will worship Him today in prayer and Bible meditation. I will give God thanks for this day and the gift of life afforded to me. I will try not to take rings for granted like my chair I am writing this on. I choose to feel the fabric and enjoy the cushion against my back. Today I live.
I will find time to laugh with family and friends. I will take time to remember those suffering all around me and not take this gift of life for granted. Today I will live. I will remember the widows and widowers who would give anything for one more kiss, one more time to eat a meal with their departed, or to hold hands one more time on a stroll. I will remember those who can no longer be active but are homebound. I will not take my mobility for granted. Today I choose to live.
Today, as I live, I give God thanks for eyesight that allows me to see what I am writing and to read His word and other good books. We are all dying but are we all really living. I choose to thank God for the ability to breathe, to think and reason. I thank God for the cool air of the ceiling fans blowing down on me. I thank God for the living room I sit in and for the fire place soon to offering warmth on cold nights. Today I live.
My friend ate lunch and offered wise words of counsel in our time together. He has just finished reading through the book of Ecclesiastes. He told me toward the end of our time together that at the end life comes down to relationships. Our relationship with God. Our relationship with our spouse, children and other family. Our relationships with friends.
Today we live. We breathe. We eat. We love. We laugh. We cry. We work. We clean. We sleep. All of those things are a part of living. Today we live.
"Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. Lord - how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days." [Ps 90:12-14]
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