A friend of ours passed away this week after a tough battle with cancer. She leaves behind a husband and four kids. We followed her journey on Facebook and were kept up-to-date from other friends of ours. My heart breaks for the family–the ones left behind.
The Big Picture
In the midst of that this week, I was called in to help mediate a conflict. I made several phone calls and listened at length to what was going on. After trying to put all the pieces together and make sense of it, I finally came to the conclusion that grace needed to be extended. As I listened and worked through the issue, I couldn’t help but think about how problems like these are so small in the grand scheme of things. In the face of death, everything else seems to pale in comparison.
We’re Not Guaranteed Tomorrow
I was reminded this week that life can change so suddenly. We’re not guaranteed tomorrow. In light of that, we have to choose to make the most of the time we have and live in a way that we don’t have any regrets. Our friend posted a picture of herself and her family just a few days before she passed away and wrote, “May be my last…”
I’ve been thinking about the brevity of life all this week. James writes this,
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
James 4:14 NLT
We don’t know how long we have; we don’t know when today could be our last. So how do we live with that in mind? Here are five quick thoughts.
- Forgive quickly. Let offenses go. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Choose to offer grace. Proverbs 19:11 says, “Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.”
- Choose to love those around you. Spend time with your family and loved ones. Make memories together. You never know when they could be your last.
- Spend time doing what really matters. Grow in your relationship with God; spend time in his word and through prayer with a morning time routine.
- Figure out what it is God wants you to do with your life and go after it with your whole heart. Work hard. Do what he created you to do.
- Live each day as if it were your last…because you don’t know when it will be.
None of us want to have regrets whether it’s at the end of our lives or simply when we pillow our head at night. So let’s live in a way that we don’t have to deal with those regrets.
More Encouragement
A book I always recommend when talking about the brevity of life is The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts. I’m forewarning you, though, make sure you have a box of tissues when you read it.