IN THE BLINK OF THE EYE

 

IN A TWINKLING OF YOUR EYE,

This morning I want to blog on this subject again as we have had another reminder how life can be changed in a twinkling of an eye. Recently, a young father and husband posed for a Christmas picture with both his loving wife and 5 month old child. Hours later, by the hands of an illegal alien, his life was taken. Looking at the picture it seems haunting now, to see how happy he was, how proud he was sharing his little family, and how proud he was to be an outstanding member of law enforcement. This post is not a political post at all, it reminded me of this message I have written about life’s unpredictability.

May we remember this family in our prayers and all others who have faced death and/or lost loved ones without prior notice. I thought this morning how most of us at this time of the year begin to think of this year ending and have we done all we had planned. I considered the parallel to this thought process. As this year will end, so will our lives and have we done all we have planned? Here is the original post:

With the blink of your eye, your entire life can change is the subject of my blog today. A friend of mine who is familiar with my inspirational blog shared an interesting story today and it touched me. This made me think of how many times in my life have I been privy to stories from a lot of people of events which changed a certain person for life. The blog serves as a sounding board for all of us how quickly our lives, our jobs, our health, and unfortunately our relationships. Here is the blog message from this inspiration.

My first story: A woman in her late 60’s who had some health issues but nothing outwardly visible uses the services of a lady to run errands, accompany on doctor’s appointments and to buy groceries. This kind lady, even though she has been paid for her time, cares enough for this lady treats her more like a mother rather than a caretaker. This has been going on for several years and it is a mutually respected friendship as well as financial arrangement. The care giver who I will call Linda for the sake of the story and and Ann for the lady who needs some help are my characters for this story. Linda had seen Ann only two days prior to the events which are life changing and Ann showed no symptoms of any discomfort and seemed in fair health. Linda tried to call Ann to see if she needed any assistance before she got very busy with the holiday festivities. Since Ann doesn’t drive, Linda was shocked for her not answering the phone. Ann’s sister lives with her but her sister still works. When Linda was trying to reach Ann, she finally got in touch with the sister who told her Ann was in the hospital. To make a long story short, Linda was shocked when she was told not to be shocked how Ann looked since she had just seen her and she looked fine. When Linda got to the hospital, the nurses were in the room with Ann and she couldn’t get a look see since the nurse was blocking her view. Once the nurse asked were there any more questions or if she could do anything else, she moved out of the way and Linda could see Ann. She almost gasped at the paleness and the inability to move her hands and some other body parts. It didn’t even look like her friend who she is so close with and sees on a regular basis. Life had changed for Ann in a twinkling of her eye.

Another story: A young man who had recently married his wife driving home in their jeep for Christmas for the holiday break and not far from their destination was slammed by a woman in a hurry running the stop sign. Touch and go for the young man who I will call John. Family came in and the news was not encouraging and for days they were not sure he would live. By God’s grace, he lived but had a spine injury which left him paralyzed. In the twinkling of his eye, his life changed dramatically and so did all of his family. I use his story for a good purpose. He has a smile on his face every time anyone comes in his eyeshot. He has not stopped living and through determination he lives on and is expanding his family.

Personal Story from 2011: This morning I want to share something personal and I am praying that it reaches some soul. Last year at this time, my sister and I knew that Momma was soon to leave this world. I planned on spending the weekend at the nursing home with Momma and chose to go the day after the New Year to avoid traffic. As I was packing on the morning of the 2nd, I had gotten a call that Momma was close to death. I was hurrying, doing everything I could to get to her and then the call from Juanelle came in that Momma had passed. I say this not to call for sympathy as I know where Momma is today, but I say it to anyone who has put off, procrastinated, forgotten someone they love, or let other things get in the way of going to see a loved one. I didn’t know the last time I hugged my Mother, told her how much I loved her and that it was okay as she was ready to go to Jesus, it was okay to go that it would be the last time, until eternity starts for me, that I would look into her precious face and kiss her. Never put off what you need to do today as tomorrow may not offer another opportunity. I don’t have guilt as I was there every chance I could be, but I know that every minute that I shared with her was worth a million more reasons of doing something else. If you have a loved one that needs to see your face or if there is someone in a home, their home, or at a hospital and it would mean the world to them to see your face, by all means, please get up and go!

One last story for all of us to realize: Too many people are talking to others and their lives end in the twinkling of an eye. Too many people put themselves in harms way without any intention that innocent as they are; someone else takes their lives needlessly. Too many people are drawing their last breath but are unaware that it is their last one and in a twinkling of an eye, they depart this earth.

Not all stories end tragically; not all lives end unexpectedly but all lives do end at some point in time and that is the purpose of this blog. I am not selling gloom and doom but getting real. Live Life; Love Life; and Live Life to the fullest by understanding every moment of every day is important so don’t take Life Lightly and appreciate each loving moment you share with your loved ones as it might be the last moment you share with this loved one.