“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” Psalm 18:32
My husband’s mother is on hospice care, and we flew to LA to visit her. I’d never met her before and was uncertain how it would be. He has such a large family – brothers and sisters; stepbrothers and stepsisters; half-brothers and half-sisters; cousins; aunts and uncles; nieces and nephews – just to meet everyone in one place would take an over-sized conference room and half a day.
There was much to consider. Her cancer is stage 4, of unknown origin. I’m not sure what that means; but, I know it isn’t good. What I found and what I expected were as opposite as right and left, for his mother was filled with hope. She looked beautiful and healthy. I thought surely she’d been misdiagnosed.
It was her attitude that touched me the most. She laughed. Told stories. Became quiet. Shared experiences. Rested. And laughed again.
The reality of life is we are all living on hospice, we just don’t want to admit it. Possibly no one has told us yet that our clocks are ticking away. Every second here is one less breath our body will have. As we push through our days, doing the busy work we all feel needs to be done, we are one day closer to death. How did we spend our last breath? Did we talk of Jesus? Did we help someone who needed us? Were harsh words exchanged or a loving touch offered? Did we accomplish something for God’s kingdom or our own?
And when we stand before Him, what will He say of our efforts? Our kindness? Our words?
Her life has been full and even now, despite the fact that she is dying, life has a flare to it; an outlook; a “maybe” they got it wrong essence.
If today were your last, how would you spend it? We don’t have the luxury of knowing.
Make each day count for Him.
