Take a Deep Breath of the "Vapor" of Life, While You Can... Give While You Can!

5/8/2002

I know Heaven will be a great place and all... But, PICTURE THIS with me a moment....

If you still felt healthy, and yet had been diagnosed with cancer and knew you would die soon, HOW WOULD YOU VIEW LIFE? If you KNEW as you drove down the road, or walked down the street, or to a neighbor’s house that it won’t be long and YOU WILL NEVER WALK THIS WAY AGAIN... how would you feel? What would you think about? What would you do?

Wouldn’t you NOTICE the unruly, frolicking cracks in the pavement, and then the five—no make that six—different kinds of birds, all singing their songs at the same time, all around you? Wouldn’t you notice the smile of a brother or sister, and appreciate the many kindnesses of Life all the more, knowing YOU WILL NOT PASS THIS WAY AGAIN? Maybe this is one of the last times you will see these faces in this life? Wouldn’t you think of the good things, rather than be cranky and demanding? Wouldn’t you view yourself, and others, more clearly if you knew you were almost gone from this world and its lives and loves and colors and designs and nuances?

Oh sure, Heaven will be great for those who will be going there—but STILL. Wouldn’t you be willing to get up early to see one more sunrise? And take that extra moment to Worship Father and be grateful for everything He’s been and done for you, regardless of “how hard” you’ve had it? : ) Would you enjoy a moment barefoot in the wet grass, laughing with children, looking each of them in the eye and REALLY caring about who they are and who they’ll become for Jesus? Wouldn’t you find quiet delight and amazement in a dinner by dancing candlelight, instead of incandescent, with His Family? : )

Would there be time to lay on your back outdoors at midnight, and throw your heart up into the starry sky while listening to “It’s My Turn Now!... My turn to give my life away” playing in the background? Would you enjoy sitting, just quietly, by a lake at sunset, with no one yakking? : ) Is it so wrong to hold a hand, or to climb a tree WAY UP HIGH to pick apples? Would you rather be “on record” and in memory as one who loved others into greatness, without compromise of course, or someone who is always “smart” or “negative” or “clever,” or have only yourself in mind and how everything affects “you”?

Is there time to let a child bury you in the sand, or to race down a hill—ROLLING? Would you decide to LIVE in LOVE, while you could? Would you notice and make a note to remember the little things? Would you be a worshipper, with a smile?

What IF we were not going to pass this way again? One more day, or a few more weeks and then no more. Would we be a bit more quiet, a bit more loving, a bit more humble, and a bit more dedicated to others—and to noticing Father and ALL THAT HE IS AND ALL THAT HE DOES? : )

I think so. : )

•  The Joy, the Gift, the Freedom of LIFE!