Life As You Know It

Think about your life...day in and day out.  For most of us, we could pretty much wager a bet on any given day as to what our day will be like.  Sure...things will happen that aren't planned: a flat tire, a traffic jam, a lunch date is cancelled, the car won't start, the baby throws up on your clothes, the dog is sick, the electricity goes off, you run out of toilet tissue, someone else gets 'your' promotion, you have an argument with your spouse, your child told you you're the worst parent ever.......

But what about those moments in life that completely change life as you know it.  It may be something that happens to you personally, or to someone close to you.  Even the latter can, and often does, cause major changes to your life.

You know the moments.  That moment when the doctor mentions the "C" word.  When an officer comes to your door to tell you that a loved one has been killed in a car accident.  When a friend can't seem to realize that tomorrow is a new day and decides to end his/her life.  When a child is walking home and never makes it to the safety beyond its door because some evil person took advantage of those alone moments.  When a spouse/parent walks away from their unsuspecting family.  When a family vacation turns into a tragic nightmare.  When a man or woman goes to a foreign land to fight for our freedom and comes home with physical disabilities and emotional scars.  When you lose a job and don't know how you're going to put food on the table or pay the bills.  


Within the last twelve months there have been several instances to occur causing me to ponder on this thought....life as I know it.  I'll share a few of them with you.  Two friends of mine, unrelated to each other, each lost their father to illness.  A fellow student of Amberlee's lost his brother in a car accident.  Another lost his father to suicide.  One of Amberlee's teachers tripped over an uneven part of pavement, hurt her back, was bedridden, and within two months had died (never bouncing back from the fall).  My uncle, 24 days ago, was dancing and having a grande ole time; had a heart attack and from that point the dominoes started falling.  In twenty-four days his heart has stopped, he's had two strokes, blood clots, a leg amputated, a mind that is totally confused, a body that is now failing him, and without a miracle he will see the Father that created us all, sooner rather than later. Each of these mentioned had no idea that life as they knew it was going to change forever on that particular day.  As I reflect on all these things that have happened to people I know, it makes me think how we are never guaranteed the next breath.  Yet, if you are anything like me, you assume that the next second, minute, hour, and day will be like the one before.  The next breath will fill your air with lungs, you will exhale, and life will continue.  The reality is that none of us knows what the next second, minute, hour, day, week, month, or year will hold.  This maze has peaks and valleys.  Sadness and happiness.  Wealth and poverty.  Beginnings and endings.


I wonder if those that have gone before us, or those still with us that have experienced some life-changing moments, would tell us to forgive more quickly, love more deeply, smile more often, embrace life more fully, surround ourselves with goodness, and let go of the things that hinder us from achieving anything short of that?  I wonder....

Here's to the box and seeing you in it....

Catfish dinner

There are definitely times during our journeys that we need to slow down and truly give thanks.  This is one of those times for me.  Three nights ago, my uncle came very close to exiting this maze as we know it.  It is true that our life can literally change within a single breath.  If you have any doubts, just ask my Uncle Buddy.  He was dancing one minute and fighting for his life the next.  These past few days have reminded me that we are all travelers for a brief time in the maze.  Some will travel longer than others, but one thing is for sure....each and every one of us will approach the exit and will cross the finish line one day. 

Be kind to one another, and tell those closest to you how much you love them.

Uncle Buddy, you have to keep fighting!  I owe you a catfish dinner.  :)

Until next time, I hope to see ya in the box!