I’m sitting here on my front porch…
The air is heavy and wet. It’s been raining today, but it’s not raining right now. The sky is still bright, but it’s fading. The clouds look like purple cotton candy stretched out across a pale blue blanket. They float. There is a mist down here in the south… in the mornings and in the evenings after a rain… this mist. It just seems to rise from the trees and it just hangs there, with nowhere else to go.
The frogs are going. The birds are going. The birds are always going. Even in the middle of the night- birds.
It’s cool but definitely not cold. I’m in a tank top. I can feel the moisture in the air. It’s still. Other than the kids upstairs in the bath, and the birds and the frogs, it’s quiet. I wouldn’t know if life had stopped outside of our little world here. And that’s both nice and strange. But mostly nice.
Although there is still light in the sky, the fireflies have started to come out of the grass. You know that they’re just getting started because all the flickers come from about a foot above the ground. In an hour or two, they’ll be all over the place. But for now, they’re just coming up- just enough in the light of the night to catch your attention. They love the gardens.
I’m grateful.
I’m grateful, because I know that life is short and I don’t ignore that. I take advantage of the blessing of that information. You should too.
We’re given a certain amount of time on this planet, and for most of us, we hope it’s a lot. I just hope it’s enough. But for some, it’s absolutely just alarmingly cut short.
I’m coming to you tonight, asking for prayer for a friend…
One of my friends and business partners lost her husband last night. He wasn’t even 60 years old and it’s unclear to me exactly how it happened, but it was unexpected and it was sudden. He has a 5 year old son. I have a 5 year old daughter. He has a wife. He had a life. And now, that life, is over.
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve lost a friend too soon, and without notice, and I’m sure it won’t be the last because life is, most definitely, too short. But it’s always such a painful reminder that we CAN NOT take a SECOND of this life for granted. It’s too magical. It’s too special. It’s too important. We have to live it to the fullest.
So as I sit here, amazed and in awe of my surroundings, I’m grateful that my family and I have decided to do just that. I used to be too ‘busy.’ I used to be too concerned with what people thought, and how I was perceived. I used to judge people, my friends included. I used to decide for people what I thought was their best course of action, and who I thought they should be married to, or what they should do with their career.
Well, I wish I could say I never do that now, but I’m sure I slip, as everyone does. But I try not to. I’m aware of it now. I’m grateful for the perspective I’ve had to gain the hard way. I’m grateful that, as I sit here on this amazing porch, I’m living each day of my life. I’m just living them. I’m not waiting for the weekend. I’m not saving up my vacation days. I’m just living life. I know you can’t take it with you. I know that none of the judgements that others cast on me are the ones that really matter. And I’m content with that perspective.
My hope, tonight, is that you all remember how short life is. I hope you decide today, to not waste time. Don’t be too busy. Don’t expect tomorrow. Don’t wait for when things slow down, or when this or that stop or let’s up. Don’t put off your dreams for tomorrow, because there are just no guarantees. When you’re number is up, it’s up. There are not always warnings. And there is never enough time. There just isn’t.
So whatever it is, just do it. Don’t wait. Most people say that they’re waiting on God, but most of the time, God is waiting on you. And he has the perspective you don’t. He knows.
Do. Not. Wait.
Dear Lord,
Please be with Eric’s family tonight. Please be with his wife and son. Please lift them up and give them peace and understanding in a time where there is none. Help them to heal, and help them to understand through their grieving that YOU, and you alone, know the whole story and see the whole picture. Please let the entire family see, know and feel the love that so many felt for Eric. Let them find solace in the fact that he was loved, he was admired, he was gifted, and he will be missed by so many.
Lord, you are a good, good father. It’s who you are. Thank you for never leaving us alone.
Amen.