[Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.]
James 4:13-14
This is a sad time of year for my family.
One year ago on July 15, my grandma, Memaw, passed away.
It was unexpected. We were shocked. It was difficult to process.
She was not young, but there were no signs showing that this was going to happen.
In that sense, I certainly understand the writing of James. Memaw was here one moment and gone the next. She was gone as fast as the mist.
The first place I went to was regret.
I wished I had called more.
I wished I had lived closer.
I wished I had made the trip more often.
I had to realize that despite what I wished, it did not change the outcome.
I could not change the past.
My wishing was not going to bring Memaw back.
I lamented this.
The night before things went downhill, I thought about calling but found some reason to not call.
I put it off and told myself that I could another day.
This "other day" did not come.
By human standards, one would not call my Grandma's life a mist.
She lived a full life.
She married the love of her life and they remained married and in love for 64 years.
This set the bar extremely high in our family. There was never far to look to see the example of real love in a relationship. This is the same legacy my parents carry.
They had three children, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
She loved all of us well. As children every year we looked forward to Christmas and summer break because it meant going to Camden, Arkansas to see the grandparents.
She loved having everyone over for those times. She loved it when her family was close.
My grandma's life is something to be celebrated. She ran her race well and lived her life wondrously.
The truth is not that I should continue to feel regret for not calling or seeing her more.
The truth is that she loved all her grandchildren and me with her entire heart, and she also loved her Savior that way.
The truth is that anyone could be gone in an instant.
Death carries no prejudice. It comes for the young and the old.
The truth comes in realizing this and understanding the importance of love in all of life's encounters.
It comes in realizing that love and contact with those that one loves, should not be put off for tomorrow because it might not come.
The truth comes in realizing the importance of the greatest commandment:
[He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”]
Matthew 22:37-40.
In this realization, one can love fearlessly and understand that people need the love of Christ.
In this realization, we have the motivation to love with the love Christ spoke about and demonstrated today, for that is all that we are guaranteed.
James 4:13-14
This is a sad time of year for my family.
One year ago on July 15, my grandma, Memaw, passed away.
It was unexpected. We were shocked. It was difficult to process.
She was not young, but there were no signs showing that this was going to happen.
In that sense, I certainly understand the writing of James. Memaw was here one moment and gone the next. She was gone as fast as the mist.
The first place I went to was regret.
I wished I had called more.
I wished I had lived closer.
I wished I had made the trip more often.
I had to realize that despite what I wished, it did not change the outcome.
I could not change the past.
My wishing was not going to bring Memaw back.
I lamented this.
The night before things went downhill, I thought about calling but found some reason to not call.
I put it off and told myself that I could another day.
This "other day" did not come.
By human standards, one would not call my Grandma's life a mist.
She lived a full life.
She married the love of her life and they remained married and in love for 64 years.
This set the bar extremely high in our family. There was never far to look to see the example of real love in a relationship. This is the same legacy my parents carry.
They had three children, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
She loved all of us well. As children every year we looked forward to Christmas and summer break because it meant going to Camden, Arkansas to see the grandparents.
She loved having everyone over for those times. She loved it when her family was close.
My grandma's life is something to be celebrated. She ran her race well and lived her life wondrously.
The truth is not that I should continue to feel regret for not calling or seeing her more.
The truth is that she loved all her grandchildren and me with her entire heart, and she also loved her Savior that way.
The truth is that anyone could be gone in an instant.
Death carries no prejudice. It comes for the young and the old.
The truth comes in realizing this and understanding the importance of love in all of life's encounters.
It comes in realizing that love and contact with those that one loves, should not be put off for tomorrow because it might not come.
The truth comes in realizing the importance of the greatest commandment:
[He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”]
Matthew 22:37-40.
In this realization, one can love fearlessly and understand that people need the love of Christ.
In this realization, we have the motivation to love with the love Christ spoke about and demonstrated today, for that is all that we are guaranteed.
