It's too often that we take things, life included, for granted. We do this on a regular basis...everyday! But life is delicate, precious, and beautiful, for just a short amount of time or as long as we have. We know life has a beginning and an end, but we somehow let that slip our attention.
I was 15 when my grandfather died of cancer.
I was 23 when my step-mother was killed.
I was nearing 40 when my father died of ALS.
And recently a 2nd friend in the last 3 years has ovarian/cervical cancer.
That is an odd little list; I have lost so many friends and family since the time my mother died, when I first learned of life's fleeting possibilities. None of these people 'planned' to die, none chose how they would die. I work in a church and this year we did about 15 funerals; people of many ages.
Life is fleeting, like a passing mist.
It is like trying to catch hold of a breath;
All vanishes like a vapor; everything is a great vanity.
Ecclesiastes: 1:2 (The Voice)
Tragedies can occur at any time and they can engulf us. Yet most of us live life feeling invincible, carefree. We do not give much heed to life's fragility.
How many times have you gotten mad at someone for a minor transgression? Have you ever gotten annoyed because your internet wasn’t working or was slow? Have you ever let a bad day bring you down? When you look at the bigger picture, loosing people you love to tragic ends — those insignificant things don’t matter. We are reminded of how fragile life is. We let senseless, nonsensical things preoccupy our days. We worry about the wrong things rather than just simply enjoying life. We get mad, we get sad, we get depressed. We let things that shouldn’t sway how we 'live' make indelible marks on us. As Pastor Jeff so often will say "I am preaching to the choir here". I need to remind myself as much as anyone.
Today, knowing we all have loved ones we might loose in an instant, I had an epiphany. My feeling of vulnerability stems from the realization that so much of my life is out of my control; it's a really uncomfortable feeling.
So in honor of someone you love that may be gone tomorrow, turn your focus away from the artificial aspects of life and the things that won’t matter in the long run and appreciate what you have because at any moment it could be taken from you.