A Fragile Life

One of the hard lessons I learned about life took place the day my father went to work and did not come home.  At age seven I was not capable of thinking about the fragile nature of life, but I knew the definition of the word deep in my young soul.  It was a moment that shaped my life.  As I grew older I was always aware the we could not guarantee a moment of coming back after a moment of leaving.  Though there were times of a failure to remember the no guarantee clause in my leaving moments, I never got very far from knowing that my life was fragile.  

At age 76, it is not some morbid thought that has me fearful of every step I am about to take, but certainly I know that my past is longer than my future.  I remember an author of some decades ago who asked the question, "How would you live if you knew you had one more day."  Our initial reaction might send us running to our bucket list, or settling into a final day of spiritual searching, getting our financial affairs in order, or having a final family gathering.  The author's answer to his own question went in a different direction as he said he would continue living as he lived yesterday and was living today.   It was the answer of someone who was living his life well.    

Life is surely fragile and there are those moments which jolt us back into an awareness of that reality.  James the Apostle wrote, "For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  (James 4:14). We often forget the wisdom of the Word from God.  It is because life is fragile that we should make sure that we pay attention to the present moment and the people who share that moment with us.  To live according to any other option is to run the risk of a wasted trip.