A Painful Reality Check...

I work for a church, so dealing with death is part of what we do, but it is never easy, and it leaves a mark on your heart every time. In the last week and a half, we had six funerals. Six is a lot in one week, but the two we had at the end of last week were the ones that impacted me the most. I attended both of them, back to back on Friday morning.

One lady, Nancy, died from what's called Broken Heart Syndrome, as a direct result of finding her own father dead. A father that she had dedicated her entire life to caring for, even giving up marriage and a family of her own. She found him on the floor in the middle of the night, and less than 5 days later, she was gone as well. She was 61. Shocking, and extremely painful to think about, as she was an AMAZING lady.

The other funeral was for our custodian's brother, Frank, whom I've actually written about in a previous post. He died from cancer. He leaves behind a beautiful wife, Tammy, a son, Jeremiah, and siblings that loved him very, very much. It seems like the entire community pulled together and fought for Frank's life, but sadly, he lost his battle on Sunday, January 18th.

Both of them so tragic, and extremely difficult to accept.

Okay... sooo... I've written before about not living with regret, but lately I've been faced with an embracing reality check, and these two deaths have served to make this check larger than life. My friends, at some point we have to realize how much we take for granted. We say goodbye to our friends and family members, co-workers and mail carriers, acquaintences and even our enemies on a daily basis. Sometimes we leave happy with each other, and sometimes we leave just downright angry, having said harsh words that sting the core.

My reality check...... what if one of these times you leave angry, and it's the last time you see that person alive? How will you feel about the way you acted... the way you treated someone... the words that flew out of your mouth? In the morning, when you're frustrated with your kids, your parents, your siblings, your husband, or even the dog, how often do you throw out an obligated wave goodbye, assuming that you will just see them later?

I can sometimes take things to extremes as I roll them over in my mind, so I want you to know that it's not my intention to create fear in this post. However, I do think all of us could slow down just a little and really think about our words, actions and flippant assumptions that life will just be the same tomorrow as it was today. We must not take "the usual" for granted, as we are not promised the next minute, let alone tomorrow. Anything can happen... at any time... to anyone in our lives.

I really don't know that there's much more I can say about this subject. Perhaps we should just let the conviction we're feeling about our own words and actions move us toward change, so that we treat others like it's the last time we may see them.

It sort of gives a whole new perspective on the verse, "'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." (Ephesians 4:26)