Life is Short
It's hard to believe that this year will be my 20 year high school class reunion. With all of the perks of modern technology and social media, my class has been discussing the details of it for several months now on a shared FB page.
The other day the organizer posted a comment about wanting to honor those we have lost and she was trying to make sure she didn't miss anyone. She listed a list of names that just broke my heart. 15 people. Fifteen lives lost. Fifteen precious souls. Fifteen children, brothers, mothers and fathers. Even as the discussion took place, another life was lost - shot during a robbery.
It is so crazy to think that these people are not here any more. It's even crazier to realize that some of these people played a big part in my teenage life and I didn't even realize that they had passed until I saw that post. We all move on, move away, branch out and live our lives... perhaps occasionally wondering whatever happened to our old friends, but you just never know. You never know when the last day will be.
I have spent a lot of time over the last few days looking up their obituaries and praying for their families - for the children they left behind, for the families that I once knew who are now without their loved one. So many culprits - cancer, disease, mental illness, traffic accidents, multiple motorcycle accidents, violence.
I don't know how else to honor them except to pray for their families, hope that they knew the Lord and that I will see them again some day. It's haunting, really.
It's also a great reminder that life is short - and that you never know HOW short it will be, so we should be making every day count. It has me thinking seriously about what kind of legacy I'm leaving behind. If I passed tomorrow, what would people remember about me? More importantly, what investments did I make in those around me that will carry impact moving forward? I don't care so much that people remember my name - but I do want to know that I have some impact on this world. That some good changes, some good movement happen because I am here.
I'm reminded of a message that one of our pastors preached a couple years ago in which he asked us to think about what we are investing in others and consider that perhaps a dynamic change that God will bring about will come later on down the line, and that the seeds that we planted may become the root for that impact.
May it be so.
The other day the organizer posted a comment about wanting to honor those we have lost and she was trying to make sure she didn't miss anyone. She listed a list of names that just broke my heart. 15 people. Fifteen lives lost. Fifteen precious souls. Fifteen children, brothers, mothers and fathers. Even as the discussion took place, another life was lost - shot during a robbery.
It is so crazy to think that these people are not here any more. It's even crazier to realize that some of these people played a big part in my teenage life and I didn't even realize that they had passed until I saw that post. We all move on, move away, branch out and live our lives... perhaps occasionally wondering whatever happened to our old friends, but you just never know. You never know when the last day will be.
I have spent a lot of time over the last few days looking up their obituaries and praying for their families - for the children they left behind, for the families that I once knew who are now without their loved one. So many culprits - cancer, disease, mental illness, traffic accidents, multiple motorcycle accidents, violence.
I don't know how else to honor them except to pray for their families, hope that they knew the Lord and that I will see them again some day. It's haunting, really.
It's also a great reminder that life is short - and that you never know HOW short it will be, so we should be making every day count. It has me thinking seriously about what kind of legacy I'm leaving behind. If I passed tomorrow, what would people remember about me? More importantly, what investments did I make in those around me that will carry impact moving forward? I don't care so much that people remember my name - but I do want to know that I have some impact on this world. That some good changes, some good movement happen because I am here.
I'm reminded of a message that one of our pastors preached a couple years ago in which he asked us to think about what we are investing in others and consider that perhaps a dynamic change that God will bring about will come later on down the line, and that the seeds that we planted may become the root for that impact.
May it be so.
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