Tomorrow's Not Promised

    "Live life to the fullest."  "Life is too short."  "Treasure every moment in life."  These are words that we say to each other periodically but do we really understand and grasp those words.  Today, I was hit with news about two people I know, both who are younger than 40.  The first is a young mother who collapsed at work from a heart attack and has been given only a short time to live.  It is heartbreaking to think about the fact that her young children will never get a chance to feel her warm embrace again or see her smile again.  They could not have imagined that the morning their mother left home for work, they would never see her walk back through the door. The second was a friend of mine from college who underwent gastric bypass surgery on last week and passed away this morning.  He and some of his friends were planning a trip for October to attend an NFL game.  I'm sure his friends never imaged he would not be here to attend the game with them.

    As young children, when we thought about a person being 30 or 40, a lot of us considered that as being "OLD".  And if you were 50 or older, you were just "ancient".  The fact of the matter is, it is at those ages when most of us truly understand and appreciate life and begin trying to impart wisdom to those younger than us in hopes they won't make some of the mistakes in life we did.  In speaking with my mother, she quoted the words of a song to me that says "the leaning tree is not always the first to fall."  As a small child, around 7 or 8, I thought the only people who died were older people, people who were at least 70.  Today, I realize just how much of a blessing it is to reach the age of 70.  I think about my grandmother who is 84 (and still going strong) and thank God for allowing her to be with us for as long as she has been.  To be able to reach her age and look back and see three generations that started from her. She has never buried a child or grandchild, she witnessed all her children and grandchildren graduate, and is now watching her great-grandchildren grow. That has to be a wonderful feeling!  All of us will not be able to reach the point in life where she is.  Many of us will be called home before then.  We can only pray that we are able to experience a piece of the joy she has had over the years.  God is all powerful and all knowing.  My prayers go out to both of their families.

    Life IS too short. We truly need to treasure EVERY moment.  Don't wait until it's too late, tell those you love that you love them, and as my grandmother says, "Be kind to those that use and abuse you too. Just feed them with a long handled spoon."  You never know when it will be your time to take your eternal rest, so do it today.  If you would, please whisper a prayer for both of these families.  Be blessed.

"Actions in heaven happen when someone prays on earth."