Life Is Short

Life is short. Life is difficult. But it's wonderful. Probably no one reading this would disagree with any of those statements. Certainly the old classic Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", starring Jimmy Stewart, tells us that life is difficult but wonderful and the movie illustrates just why it's so wonderful. Life is wonderful and rich because of the people with whom we share our lives. Oh, there are other great things. I mean who can deny that the world we live in is beautiful? Nature. Exciting and fun events. Heck, food is wonderful! Books. Music. Laughter. All wonderful. If we sat down together, we could make long and impressive lists about what makes life wonderful. God created a great world and and He has given us all the abilities to create so many amazing things. But above all are the people we know, the people we love, the people with whom we have relationships.

There are people in our lives who we see day to day or with whom we communicate often, and with whom we maintain tight, close relationships. And then there are people we have known all of our lives, who we still deeply care about, but who are not actively in our lives. There are people we have just met who hold promise of being "keepers". And then there are those long, long lists of people who we know, who we wish well, but who probably are not ever going to make the short lists. We see them at the grocery store or on the street. We wish them well and we mean it! But realistically, we cannot hold everyone close. Our lives will not contain it.

But when tragedy and loss strike, our hearts open to enfold those involved. We feel their loss, their pain. We feel the tragedy. We might not even know their phone numbers or perhaps we're not friends on Facebook. I think back......when did I last see or speak with this person? Our hearts are affected and, as stated in the previous paragraph, these people didn't even make the "short list". But there's a connection, a real connection. It's about the heart, about history, about love, friendship and relationship.

Allow me to go back to my first little sentence. Life is short. Just this Spring, we unexpectedly lost a family member, my brother-in-law. Too soon. His passing has created a huge empty place in the lives of my sister, my niece and my nephew. They will go on, but the empty place, filled with pain, remains as a reminder of who once filled it.

Since the beginning of this year, three young people who grew up with my son have passed, and I have lost a very good friend myself. So young. Way too soon. One passed suddenly and unexpectedly and the others following long and hard-fought battles with cancer. In the wake of those losses, I think back to so many memories of these fine young people. My heart breaks for their families, their close friends, their yet "unlived" lives. And all we can do is remember them fondly, include them in our conversations, think of them as we go on. Life is short. But life is meaningful, worthwhile, rewarding. The losses remind us to live, to "Live Life Like Someone Left The Gate Open". Can we do that? I hope we can.

I had a need to write this, knowing full well that you may not have a need to read it. Smile. If you did,  thanks for bearing with me. My next entry will be more upbeat. For now, the rain has cleared briefly, allowing for a brief "sit" on the porch. Care to join me? Albert says he cares to very much.