Our life is but a mist, what we decide to do with it and who we give it to is really what the question should be.This past weekend was a difficult time for me as my last post recently reflected. My family and I buried my mother and I gave a eulogy/remembrance of her. It was hard, but very heartfelt. The thing about this past weekend that holds true to my heart is to realize how short life is. It is not to say that my mom's 86+ years on this earth was short, but when you put things in perspective, it really isn't that long either.
For the past 11 years my mother has dealt with pain and health issues that seem too much for any to bear. This morning I received word that a family friend had a child that died in their sleep. My father asked me tonight during dinner why bad things happen to good people. Why do things like this occur? That really is a tough question in any situation to answer and especially when you have so many emotions tied to the situation. I found this picture of my son and I at a pumpkin farm and we were holding a chick and its life was so precious in my hands. So many bad things could have happened, but didn't. Yet, that life is so precious and vulnerable at the same time. I don't think I can ever answer why things like this and that situation happen, but what I can say is that what happens following those events are ever so important - Community! That is, others coming around you to carry your burdens, to lift you up, to just be a shoulder to cry on and or support that cannot be measured.
For instance, my wife had a friend who was a mother of young kids like ours who died of cancer - why? I have no rhyme or reason this side of earth to even remotely explain the why. What I can say, however, is watching the impact of that women's faith and her consequences and by her witness what Jesus Christ meant to 1000 other lives that have been impacted by hers. It is those moments that are essential to the pouring out of love. We read in Corinthians that of these three: Faith, Hope and Love - Love is what matters most.
This past weekend, when we buried my mother, I was completely and utterly touched by the amount of friends and family that came to support me: Men from my men's group at church, friends from work, home, and church. My best man from my wedding drove 13 hours from Texas to support me and give my family his condolences - I cannot tell you how much all of this meant, but I can tell you the influence that these people had in their lives and the influence that my mother's faith left on a multitude of people who attended that wake and funeral service.
For those of you that lost loved ones over time, I am sorry, truly sorry, for your loss. Our lives are but a mist. Are you using your gifts and talents to bless others and to honor God, our wives, our families and our friends?
If not, why not?
Dante