This has been a hard week in some ways. Several friends have lost loved ones. Some of those deaths were sudden; some were at the end of a lengthy battle. It is sad to lose members of the previous generation in a family, no matter their age or health struggles. We miss them. Rarely, do I believe we have learned all that we might before they are gone.
I learned this week of a young mother, expecting a baby this fall. It is anticipated that the baby will live only a short while due to a chromosomal abnormality. It breaks my heart for everyone involved. I do not know this expectant mother, but I do know those who know her well. She and her husband have God-breathed strength, and I know they will survive this, but not before they experience great depths of sadness.
A friend suffered an aortic rupture Sunday night. One moment he was fine, and the next he was fighting for his life. Thanks to quick responses and excellent medical care, he is alive, and beginning the long journey of recovery.
Life is so fragile.
I love history. I do not particularly care for dates and battle strategies, but I love the personal stories. I love the reminders that there is nothing new under the sun. We do not suffer anything that has not been suffered time and time again. That is why I love stories of the past. They are reminders to me about the fragile nature of life on this earth. I visit old houses and hear stories of families who lived and worked and loved and died there, and I know they had the same hurts and joys and losses that I have.
They say we are all 3 or 4 generations from being totally forgotten. In some ways that is very troubling, but in other ways it is very comforting. I visit old cemeteries, and unless the person honored there is famous, all we have left is a stone with a name and dates to remind us that he or she lived. It is a reminder that none of us is indespensible to the running of the planet. When we depart this world the world will not miss a beat. If we are lucky, we will have influenced a handful of people who will care deeply at our departure from their lives, but even so, they will continue to wake up in the morning, laugh, love, sing, work, and enjoy their lives. Praise God for that.
When I walk at Radnor, I am struck by the ancient. Now, Radnor Lake as we know it today is not exactly ancient. If it is, then I am prehistoric, but the feel of the place reminds me that life was here long before I got here, and it will be here long after I leave. I find great comfort in that. When I sit by the Cumberland River I think how that river has been flowing and will continue to flow for generations. I think of families who navigated that river to escape the American Revolution and British oppression. They may have traveled in heavy flatboats with no electricity or other modern conveniences, but they loved their families, and they strove to provide for and protect them just like we all do. It is our common bond; that and the fragility of our lives.
Because life is so fragile, I think it behooves us to handle it with care. The really wise understand that they are not promised one more day; not even one more moment. It seems such a pity to waste our time stressed and complaining and bothered by the things that do not matter. Some people find this easier than others. Some embrace happiness regardless of circumstances. Those people do not let their sense of themselves and their lives be dictated by circumstances. As Abraham Lincoln, among others, said, "we're about as happy as we make up our minds to be." I respect the wisdom of the people I know who squeeze every moment of joy out of every day. And, I say "balderdash" to anyone who says these people are shallow or Pollyannas (meant in a derogatory manner - for I really do love Pollyanna). The joy-grabbers are not unaware of the troubles of this world, they just focus on the good. Actually, I find them to be far more aware than those who spend their lives in a "woe is me" posture.
I am acquainted with others who have adopted the victim mentality, and they see themselves as the victim in their own lives. Everything for them is so much more difficult. Life seems to "happen" to them. They tend to accentuate the negative and minimize the positive. I assume there are about as many different reasons for this mindset as there are people with this mindset. I think it would be a very hard place to be. I have no solution, yet it does seem a foolish place to stay.
Most of us are somewhere in the middle. But for all of us, life is fragile. We only have so many days to spend here. Maybe choosing a posture of joy and gratitude is the best possible way to handle that delicate gift with care.
For today, I wish you an appreciation for the gift of life, I wish you joy, I wish you a sense of gratitude for the gift, and I wish you
blessings
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