Brevity of Life - The Present Christ

Life is so short isn’t it? Maybe it doesn’t seem that way when your young say 20’s and 30’s but as I get older and I’m not really that old (40) it just seem to start zipping away. I recently visited my mom and dad in Nanoose Bay and they are 85 and 83 respectively. I guess its been awhile since I saw them last and they are more bent over, they talk the same but a little slower, everything seems to be at a slower pace for them now. I really value my time with them and wish that we lived closer. They have done so much for me; they adopted me when they were both in their 40’s. I want to make the days and minutes count. I want them to know how much they mean to me. I call them often and write letters and send pictures. Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time and spend more time with them doing things that they now cannot do. Even a trip to the mall is difficult for mom, she has arthritis and doesn’t really enjoy outings. My twenty two year old son and I went with dad to walk on the beach, one of my favorite memories from childhood. But we couldn’t walk for hours like we used to, its kind of sad how time marches on and the older we get the faster time seems to fly by. And in an instant it can be gone. You just never know what might be around the next corner.

I recently lost a nephew. He was only 19. We barely knew him, the family had drifted apart for various reasons. It was sad for so many reasons. I have a lot of nephews and nieces, too many to count on all my fingers and toes. I don’t want to let any more time go by with out letting them know that although miles may separate us they are always in my prayers. Family is like that sometimes; close in our hearts but miles and miles may separate us. Or they may live close by…in the same town but we hardly see them. Maybe our lives seem to take different paths.

Death can come so suddenly, we may never get the chance to say again “ I love you”, or I really liked the times we… One of my favorite verses is “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). It helps me to remember that I can’t go back in time, I can’t change the way I did anything…but Jesus was there. I may not be physically close to all my family members right now…but Jesus is there. And tomorrow will bring a new day I might get the chance to talk to family or see family and Jesus will be there.

Sharon Duffy