Living with the end in mind...

A lot of times, we move through life and things happen but they really don't make an impact. But every now and then something happens that really sticks with you. Last week, something like that happened to me. It was one of those things that has just been on my mind since it happened. Last week I happened to attend a funeral of a friend's wife in the afternoon; then the birth of a friends son. All within like 12 hours.

First the funeral was of Mr. Wright's wife, a man who faithfully attends church and The Edge. (He so committed that he was at The Edge the week his wife died.) I felt so bad for him seeing how important she is to him and what the end result of a successful marriage should be! Sounds weird to think about it like that, but God tells us how he feels about divorce. So if we do it God's way, at some point, we will be separated from our loved ones by death. I don't want to embrace that because I know what that means, yet at the same time I am confident that my future holds that because my wife means to much to me to cheapen our love. So as I mourn for my friend Tom, yet I rejoice for him knowing that they were successful in their marriage. And know that as bad as it hurts, their is worse to separate marriages than going "home".

Then later that night my best friends had their second child. It was such an awesome time rejoicing with them as they welcomed their son after a long pregnancy. Their family was there and we got to hear and share stories of what they mean to us, and how blessed we are with them in our lives. We didn't get to see the baby, because of some minor complications, but we left the hospital know that my best friend (by default) was ok and that our family got a little bigger that day.

So the thought that stuck with me is so simple yet so complex. That life really is something precious. Something often taken for granted, something way more complicated, and worth cherishing. We often forget. Or at least I often do. But over the last few months, I've been striving to seize the moment, to embrace the temporary, and try to remind those I love how important they are to me. I don't want to take people in my life for granted. I don't want to overcomplicate the relationships I have, just simply love them. I don't want another day where I don't cherish the people God has allowed me to share life with because the truth is that any moment could bring death...and life.