Are You Living Fully?

“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead?’” Luke 24:5

I grew up beside a cemetery, so I don’t see them as particularly spooky or scary places. That cemetery was a regular part of my world. I walked, and rode my bike there. I talked with my friends as we strolled past tombstones. It was a part of the landscape.

But recently I was walking through a cemetery and grew very disturbed. Looking at numerous tombstones, I considered the ages of those who had passed on. There were so many young people, and so many children. Why had they crossed over and others been allowed to live to old age?

We may never have answers to such questions on this side of heaven, but everyone alive today, even those of us with terrible disabilities and illnesses, should be grateful that God has given us life, and we should appreciate every moment of it.

Sometimes it is hard to feel grateful about anything when we struggle so hard to survive our afflictions. But knowing that death could take us at any time should make us sober to the fact that in sickness or in health, life is a precious gift, not to be squandered or wasted. I am sure those young people and those children, and especially the parents who lost them on this side of heaven, would agree that life is precious indeed.

Perhaps you are feeling that life is not worth living considering all the suffering and hardship you face. I would encourage you to remember that life is all too short, perhaps a stroll through the cemetery will help you to keep it all in perspective.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life is so short, but help us to make every day count, to live each day fully and with appreciation for the life You have given us. Amen.