Realizing Reality

In the last month or so there have been a few side facts of my life that seem to bring things a bit more into focus. They were nothing that have personally affected me greatly, but that have made a large impression on me. Reality, or rather the reality of life, seems to be a little clearer. I’m not saying I have the answers to life, or the right way of thinking about life, but a small reality check has hit me.

A friend of mine talks often about life and how in life a Christian is a pilgrim. A pilgrim walks through from place to place, never having a real home until he/she gets to their Final Destination, which is Heaven when it comes to a Christian. I agree with Benjamin whole-heartedly. Christians aren’t a permanent fixture and shouldn’t consider themselves as such. It’s an important lesson that I hope to remember all during my walk in life. But I guess that’s what has actually caught my attention. Life.

Why would that concern me or catch my attention? I’ve got a nice life. I’ve got an interesting, full, exciting, and lively life. I wouldn’t switch it for the world.

But life. That’s the thing now. That’s the reality. When I was home for Christmas something terrible happened. It was something that I haven’t written about yet because of how sensitive it was. But due to another something that’s happened I’m going to write about it. The “something terrible” that happened was that somebody passed away. The somebody was a guy I grew up with. He was 21 years old. Three days before Christmas he died suddenly at lunch. He was in the middle of telling a story to his friends, with whom he was eating when he died. He died of an enlarged heart.

Two weeks ago a friend of mine (here in Holland) got suddenly sick. He ended up in the hospital. His first day he couldn’t walk or talk. He’s getting better now. He could’ve died, but thank God he didn’t. He’s still in the hospital, but hopefully he’ll be out soon.

Reality check? Definitely. Why? Because I see all around me, in my life and around it, that life is unpredictable. Life is short, sometimes. Life…Many times on the plane ride back to Holland I thought about how my life could end just like that. All it’d take is a second. So what should I do with this realization? I can’t ignore it. It’s too important. I’ll have to live like it’s my last second, every second. But I forget. Sometimes I forget. But when I’m sitting and thinking at night, I remember again. I don’t know what will happen with my life, but I do know that I want to live every moment right, as if it’ll be my last. Moments that God will approve of, so that He’ll look at me and say, “Well done.”