Putting Things into Perspective

Today my husband is attending the funeral of one of his friends and he is having a tough time with it, as any of us probably would. Three months ago, this man was diagnosed with lung cancer...a result of a lifetime of smoking. About 4 weeks ago, he came to see Nelson...they cut up and visited and caught up on life...he was thinner than Nelson remembered but he was doing well. They made plans for Nelson to come work at his house again to do the electrical on the addition he was building. Two weeks later, a mutual friend came in to tell Nelson that his friend was in ICU and in a coma and not expected to make it thru the night. They had removed all life support. Last week, he passed away.

What's the perspective? First of all, time is short and there are no guarantees on tomorrow. If amends need to be made, make them. If forgiveness needs to be given, give it....or ask for it. If bridges need to be repaired, repair them. If you need to tell someone you love them, do it. You don't know if you will have another opportunity to take care of business. Secondly, this has been a tough year for us in so many many areas including financial and I was worrying about having money not only to pay bills, but didn't know how we were going to buy any Christmas gifts for the kids. I couldn't bear the thought of my child being disappointed. I thought this was going to be the worst Christmas ever and depression and hopelessness seemed to overwhelm me once again. But when the news of this friend came to us, it put some things into perspective. I can only imagine how tragic this Christmas is for this man's family. A handful of days before Christmas and they are burying their loved one. This man never dreamed a few weeks ago that he would not be here on this earth to spend Christmas with his family. You know, we have so much to be thankful for....our health, our family, our friends, our church and most important, a relationship with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Christmas has lost its true meaning for so many of us, even Christians....the focus is on the gifts we receive and the gifts we give. But we "I" need to remember the real meaning of Christmas and fall on my knees before my Christ and give Him all the Glory and Honor that He so deserves.