The obituary in the Dallas Morning News had her age at 49. 49? Why that’s a grown woman! No–in my mind, I recall a much younger person. A person who I was not close to but whose family was a part of the make up of my world in the early years of my life. They were fixtures at Dallas Christian School. I wrote to a friend this morning:
It’s kid of strange but I will have a memory of someone from a long time ago and they remain that way (whatever age they were) in my memory. So when I think of that person, I have a mental image of how they looked the last time I saw them. Then someone will say, “Oh she lived there for about 20 years.†Or “Yea, her kids have graduated from high school or even college.†It sounds incredible given the picture of the person I remember.
I have not seen this girl (sorry–woman) in many years. But wait–you do understand what I am saying, don’t you? I have all kinds of "snapshots" in my head. Pictures of people who I haven’t seen in years (Very few of these mental pictures are "digital". I’m afraid this dates me!). I expect all of these people to remain today, just as they were when I last saw them. But it doesn’t seem to work that way.
It’s like you are minding your own business, picking up some milk at the grocery store when all of a sudden there is a big gust of wind and time grabs you by the collar saying, "We are going forward–quickly! Hold on!"
Then you look around and see:
- Your children are grown,
- You have gray in your hair,
- People younger than you are having their funerals.
All of this reminds me that life is very short. Yet, I won’t be talking about getting "old." I think I’ll save my breath. There is too much life to drink in today. Each day is a gift from God. And–because of his ultimate gift, I will one day live in his presence in a place that has no use for a clock or calender.
The timelessness of heaven is impossible to comprehend, but as someone with a daughter who turns 20 this year, it is certainly something that throws the ‘shortness’ of life into focus. Living every day as an important day is something I strive for, so many of my friends, those with and without living faith, are so fixated on the future, what they will do when they have money, when the kids are gone, when they have more leisure time… it seems that for many of them this part of their life is a tunnel, rather than the vibrant mix of hopes/realities/disappointments/opportunities that it really is.
Brett,
Thanks for the reminder about not getting fixated on the future. You said it well.
I didn’t realize you had a connection to Dallas Christian. Our son went to High School there. They took state his senior year in football (he was the starting senior) and they were second in the state his junior year. We loved DCS!