Pespective!

 
I know I seem to blog about "time" fairly often, but the older I get, the more I realize just how fast it goes.  I remember being a kid, and summer vacation and the days seemed eternal.  Now that I'm knocking on 40's door...not so much.  I really see the days flying past me. I find myself thinking, "Where has the time gone? I was just 20 yesterday, and now I'm almost 40?"  Really??!!!  Not that I think 40 is ancient or anything, but I remember my parents turning 40. I was 13, and that just seemed like an old fogey to me.  My goodness, and it would be a LOOOOOOOONG time until I turned 40. I think I blinked twice and here I am.  Where did all those years go?  And how is it possible that my parents are now in their 60's and retired?  Today I had the privilege of visiting with a man from my church who has terminal cancer.  I just saw him about a month ago, he was up walking around and joking like he always does, but not so much today.  He took a bad fall last week, and now he's been given a few months to live.  As I was sitting in his living room today visiting with his wife, I couldn't help but notice something.  As he is lying in his hospital bed with not much energy and dozing off from time to time, I couldn't help but notice the pictures of him around the living room on the wall. Pictures from years gone by of a strong, healthy man. A family man with pictures with his kids when they were small. A church photo of he and his wife.  Photos with the grandkids.  All of these pictures reminded me of a man that used to be. Pictures from those glorious 70's and 80's with the library and office backgrounds. Yes, you know the ones I'm talking about. :)  Pictures that probably seem like a lifetime ago to his family.  As I sat and listened to his wife talk to my mom, I couldn't help but let my mind and eyes wander off to those pictures, and then to him lying in his bed resting.  I can hardly make it be the same man that is in those photos.  This is not the first time that I've experienced something like this. I've done it with relatives of mine and other folks from church who have passed on.  What happens to us?  How do we go from being strong one day to letting cancer eat us up the next?  These are the times when perspective smacks me in the face.  Time is fleeting and one day, that is going to be each one of us lying in that hospital bed when people from our churches are coming to visit us.  Will they look at my old pictures and wonder what happened to the strong, young girl?  Sometimes I push death to back of my mind, as we all do. It's easy to tell yourself you're not "old", and 70, 80, 90 years old is a lifetime away.  But is it?  I can't even figure out how I got to 40, let alone when I get to 70.  I want to use my time wisely while I'm here, and I can say that I've wasted a lot of years that the Good Lord has given me.  But I want to stop doing that.  I want to make a difference in someone's life, and I want people to see the Lord through me. If I can change one heart, I have at least done something for the the good of God's Kingdom.  I want to keep perspective, I want to live life and make a difference. I want to love people right where they are even when they may be unlovable.  God has certainly loved me MANY times when I've been unfaithful and unlovable.  Shouldn't I do the same with people?  So how about you? How are you using your time? Are you working, working, and working just to get more things and live the good life? Or are you keeping perspective and making a difference in the lives of people?  I can't answer that for you, but I know you know the answer deep within your heart. And if you need some help figuring out what's important in life, I suggest you go visit someone with a terminal disease.  If that doesn't make you think about what's important, I don't know what will.  Go out today and be an encourager in someone's life. Keep perspective in the forefront of your mind.  You never know what people are going through, and YOU could make all the difference in the world.  God Bless!