My mother’s sudden unexpected death in 1997 sent me into a
time of depression. She was the hub of
our family wheel. She was the one who
brought smiles and laughter to every situation.
The impact and circumstances of her passing on my life and the lives of
all our family caused a crisis of faith leading me to question life’s purpose,
God’s plan and wondering about the point of doing anything constructive. I still functioned and went through my paces
in life and fulfilled responsibilities and duties but there was an emptiness
that led to a time of deep depression.
After my family would go to bed I had trouble sleeping and
would go to the computer and seek to fill the empty time. I played FreeCell. For hours I would play this computer card
game that is a variation on the old game of solitaire. I spent so much time that I became quite
good. Leaning toward my OCD nature I
began keeping score. I won 63 games in a
row! This was quite exciting until I
looked around and realized I was sitting in a dark
room at 4 am all alone. I had
accomplished something that was absolutely worthless. It had no significance for this life or the
next. In fact, I was embarrassed and
reluctant to share my glorious achievement. Why would anyone want to brag about the many hours thrown away on
something totally useless?
Life is a precious gift.
It is fragile and fleeting.
James 4:14 describes our life on earth as “a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes”. My
mother only lived 68 years, which seems younger as I approach that age myself,
but she lived life fully. She left us
with a legacy of laughter, love and joy for life and I realized how much I was
wasting that legacy while honing my skill as a FreeCell player.
The first real sermon I preached in a church used the text from John
10:10 where Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.” Sitting alone in a dark
room staring at computer screen until the wee hours of the morning does not
constitute an abundant life. This was my
wake-up call. I want my days on this
planet to be meaningful. I don’t need
to waste time perusing or worrying about things that have no eternal significance.
I am 63 years old. My grandmother had 98 years of life while my
mother had 68. I do not know that I have
tomorrow but I have today! I have right
now!
What can I do today, this moment that will have real and lasting meaning? How can I make the most of this
moment? My father had a plaque on his
desk that said, ‘For every moment you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness’. It was his reminder that it was important to
do all one can to fill each moment with happiness. Let the angry, disappointing, discouraging
moments go as quickly as possible and focus on happiness. Forgive and forget as soon as you can. Jesus tells to go to the person who has
something against us as quickly as possible to make things right (Matthew
5:23-24). True worship (communion with
God) cannot occur when we are at odds with our fellowman.
Life is too short to waste on things that do not have real
or eternal value.
Come to think of it
the only thing in this life that has real or eternal value is
relationships. Your relationship with
Jesus allows you to have eternal life.
Those who have a relationship with Him have the promise of eternal relationships
as we are united in Heaven after we leave this life. So stop spending (wasting) time being
consumed with something that will not last.
Invest your time, thoughts and energy building growing loving relationships
that will last forever.
