Jesse Helm died today. I recognized the name but would not have been able to tell you who he was. It's not that I knew his politics or respected him as a man, although I'm sure he was a fine one. What strikes me about his death is the same thing that I think of every time someone famous dies. I never thought Eric would live longer than Jesse Helm or Tim Russert, Heath Ledger or Bozo, George Carlin or Jim McKay,Yves Saint Laurent, Sydney Pollack... there are so many more just fill in the blank.
It always reminds me of how precious time is, makes me wonder if we spent ours well, but most of all, it makes me grateful that we had some advance warning. That we've had our time to speak and do and cherish. Eric wasn't hit by a car or killed in an airplane crash. We've had time to mourn as we went along instead of having our lives ripped apart in a single moment.
I tell you all this for two reasons. Firstly, to remind you that no one knows the day you will die but God.
"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Selah
-Psalm 30:4-5
Don't waste one more day without telling those you love just how much you mean to them. Don't go another day with division between you and another. Make peace, share your love, and make today the day you do that thing you've always wanted to do. All our days are numbered and no matter how many are left it will always be too few if you procrastinate.
Secondly, I want to be able to look back at this on a day when Eric is not doing well and remind myself that this is better than the alternative. Having the advance warning was worth it.
Thank you all for encouraging me to keep blogging.
Blessings to you all this 4th of July. What a privilege we have to live in a country founded upon Christian values. And oh yea, Fireworks ROCK!
Amy
P.S. You all enjoyed the sky photos so much I included another.
1 comment:
Susan Morgan is a friend of mine from Community Bible Study. Last year she shared your story with me and I have been praying for healing, for peace, for other things.
There is nothing new I can tell you, but I emphasize how deeply you are loved, even by folks you haven't met, like me. I ask the Lord to share the burden of pain, lifting it off your shoulders and placing it on mine and others who love you, so that your focus can be Him and each other.
God hears every prayer and has a plan into which we fit. So often we try to draw Him into our plan, but when we surrender and trust that He already has things in hand - literally - there is such peace. Our time here is so short and our goal is life with Him. When we follow Him in this life, we are already 'there'. In our lives we may become separated physically by miles or by the death of the earthly container of our souls, but hearts are united more deeply in Him, and that is eternal.
In your journey through this bundle of trials that has come, your family has expanded to include strangers, your faith has deepened and the priorities and value you have placed on this life together continues to turn in the direction the Lord would have for us all. To focus on what truly matters - love of God and of each other - is His entire goal for us. Not only have you been brought into more intense light, but through your trials and your honoring others with your blog, you have enabled others to move with you in that light. This journey is far deeper and richer than you will ever know, because you have been obedient to journey with the Lord, opening the door to others who also are in the Lord. Well done, friends.
Thank you for the sweet blessing of knowing you in Christ, both now and for eternity, because I know you in the spirit, through His love.
Praying on,
Janet
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