Life

My life has been in quite an upheaval for me the past few weeks as my son-in-law and brother are both in the hospital fighting infection in their bodies.  I spent a week in Miami to help my daughter and to be there for the surgery on her husband.  I came home last Monday evening via train, in which my hotspot on my phone refused to work so I didn’t get to my blog last week. 

When I picked up my brother on Tuesday for a urology appointment, I was surprised to see how ill he was.  I then took him home to stay with me, after his appointment, as he had become too much for my eighty-three year old mother to handle. (He’s 6’5”, 250 pounds and handicapped – she’s 5’3” and 130 pounds.)  He has been in the hospital since Friday now, after an ambulance ride to the ER, and will be having surgery this week when a blood infection clears up.

One thought that has jumped out so clearly to me this past week is that the little stuff just doesn’t matter when you have a family member, or two, who is very sick.  Hospitals quickly place priorities in the proper order.

Suddenly, I don’t care that I haven’t cleaned my bathroom in over two weeks.  I don’t care that the washed dishes remain drying in my sink.  I don’t care if I miss the event I had looked forward to attending.  I only care that my loved ones walk out of the hospital in good health.

Why is it that we take the ones we love the most for granted?  We forget to tell them how much we love them.  We take out frustrations and anger on them because we believe they will always be there for us.  They are sometimes the last person on our list of priorities.

We can’t forget to appreciate every day we have and every day we share with our loved ones, especially our spouses.  We can’t assume they will always be there for us.  We can’t wait until tomorrow to spend time with them or tell them how much we love them.

A friend of my daughter lost her husband last year.  She was pregnant with their second child and only 24 years old.  At the age of 31, he laid down to take a nap one afternoon and never woke up again. 

Each moment is a gift.  A gift we should share with those who mean the most to us.  Don’t waste it with negative words or worthless anger or frivolous activities.  Live each day as if there may not be a tomorrow - because there may not.

Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

James 4:13-15,  “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”