Psalms 39:4-5

“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.  Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”

The older I get, the quicker time goes.  As a child, years, weeks, even days seemed to drag on.  There were times when I would truthfully think I would never make it to high school.  And now here I am, 25 and married.   But that’s not even the scariest part.  What’s even more surreal is how fast it all happened.

As I read passages like the one referenced above, I find myself stopping for a moment, reflecting on the temporal aspect of this life, and then quickly merging back into the fast lane.  I tell myself someday I’ll be able to slow down and focus on what’s really important, but right now, I have an endless to-do list and not enough time to complete it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with productivity.  I am, by nature, a worker.  I like accomplishing things.  When I can go to bed at night with a significantly diminished list of things to do, I sleep well.

The problem surfaces when we lose sight of what’s truly important in life, when climbing the corporate ladder takes priority over family, when striving for our ideal life clouds our vision of God’s plan for our lives, when being something great in the world’s eyes is more important than being who God made us to be.

But what if today was the last day?  What if tomorrow wasn’t an option?  What if you’ve reached the end?  Are you ready for that?   What will people say about you when you’re gone?  What do you want them to say about you?

He worked a lot, the office was like his home…

Her house was always clean, sometimes too clean…

She had a 4.0, but had no time for friends…

He was my dad, but I guess I never really knew him…

Is what you’re living for worth dying for?

{Brittany}

This question stared me right in the face this Christmas.  My little sister Brittany is the epitome of health.  As a track athlete at North Dakota State University, she is in prime condition.  She works out 6 days a week and monitors her diet with incredible precision.  So when she came down with the flu on Christmas Day, we had no reason to believe it was anything more serious.  Her head hurt, she had a temperature of 102º and she was achy.  Nothing about her condition seemed unusual… until she wasn’t getting better.

She had been planning on attending TCX with Campus Crusade in Minneapolis over New Years, so four days later when she was supposed to leave town, she made every effort to assure our parents that she was fine.  By 11:00 am her car was packed and she was on her way.

On Wednesday, her condition hadn’t improved.  Instead, she seemed to be sliding backward.  At that point, her hands and feet were going numb and her speech was becoming somewhat incoherent.  After notifying a nurse on staff at the conference, she was taken to the emergency room and immediately was moved to intensive care.  Her blood pressure was 70/40 and her kidneys were failing.  My parents were called and instructed to come to Minneapolis as soon as possible.

Through the night, doctors scurried in and out of her room, dragging her from one test to the next searching for answers.  Before the night was over, she had two spinal taps and a CAT scan and was hooked up to 3 IVs and a catheter.

But answers didn’t come.  Hours dragged as I waited impatiently for my parents to call with news.  Stranded in Sioux Falls by snow covered roads, my mind was left racing.  Of all the people in my life, how could she be the one in such critical condition?  She’s so healthy…and only 21.  What if she didn’t make it? As this surreal question entered my mind, I was suddenly struck with the realization that life is indeed short and completely unpredictable.  As tears streamed down my cheeks in disbelief, I prayed, pleading with God to give us answers and to save her life.

As always, God provided.  He took care of my sister as she laid in the hospital.  He encouraged her and strengthened her.  And soon answers came.  She was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome and a staph infection.  The doctors told us if she had not been as healthy as she is, she most likely wouldn’t have made it as long as she did, but even when she came in, they estimated she would have died within 12 hours without medical attention.

My sister is alive by the grace of God.  It was He who surrounded her with people who knew how to help her.  It was He who gave them the wisdom and knowledge to do what they did to save her life.  It was He who knew the answers when no one else did.  I thank God daily for taking care of her the way He did.  I cannot imagine life without her.

{Reflections}

Brothers and sisters, what are you living for?  Is it worth dying for?  What will people say about you when you’re gone?  If today was your last day, would you be satisfied with the life you’ve led?  Would God?

Don’t live life counting on tomorrow.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

James 4:13-15

¹³ 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.” ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”