Tag Archives: Waiting for Christmas

Waiting to die

Marcia and I enjoyed our visit with friends in a care center. Diagnosed with terminal cancer and no treatment options remaining, he is waiting to die. It’s inspirational to witness his positive attitude and it’s clear he is at peace with his pending future. In fact his wife says he’s like a kid before Christmas and can’t wait for that special day to arrive. Except in this case, that special day is the moment he steps from this life into his heavenly home. And like the child before Christmas, it’s hard to wait. “Why can’t Christmas (heaven) come right now?!” He tells me how is body is deteriorating and doesn’t understand why he has to wait for his heavenly home. I know how he feels.

We seldom dare think of it but we all share the same mortal diagnosis. None of us get out of here alive. But unlike the countdown of days before Christmas, we don’t know when our final day will arrive. It could be tonight. Passing a bad accident on the other side of the interstate today, we prayed for those involved and pondered how they had no clue what was in store for them this very day. Neither do you or I.

And yet we live pretty consistently in a way that denies our pending end of this life’s journey. We make plans for a future that may never arrive. And so we must. Bills have to be paid, laundry done, and work tasks accomplished. There are children to raise, friendships to foster, relationships to mend, and investments to be made. We can’t truly live as if this were the last day of our life, but shouldn’t we live with that very reality in mind?

I kiss my wife before she leaves the house and remind my grandchildren how amazing they are as I hug them each time we meet. There are so many to-do lists that scream for attention and many that have no real lasting value but call to us just the same. But we must not let the tyranny of the merely urgent control what is really important. Isn’t this what living a full abundant life is about? Walking each day’s tightrope, aware of both the threatening perils of a fatal fall and also the immense joys waiting for us at the end of the line.

I don’t have it all figured out. Mostly each day seems a hot mess; you never have it all together. But in the midst of that struggle between fully living and being at peace with dying, there exists a certain level of contentment and  satisfaction – a peace that surpasses all our common understanding.

Just as it’s hard to wait for Christmas Day on earth, so it’s hard to wait for a glorious heavenly life. Here’s to keeping both in mind throughout this very day!