Realizations...

I received "Hold on Tight" this morning from a friend from college. We had lost touch, but regained contact a few years ago. Most of our contact is now via the Internet and yearly Christmas cards and greetings, but we have made that conscious effort to keep the contact alive and well.

I simply wanted to post this, because to me it speaks a lot of truth. Life is a precious blessing and so is each second we are blessed to live with. I know I'm guilty of not appearing to not see this, but I do know how precious it truly is. I've been with more than one family member as they took their final breath...one second here, the next second their spirit has left. I've been behind the vehicle of a car, enjoying life with my kids one minute and in the next, I was wondering if life would ever be the same as I knew it.

I've experienced with my mom what it's like to be handed a diagnosis which means your life will never be the same. It is in that instant that you truly realize the frailness of this life and just how precious your loved ones are. You begin to live and view life in a vastly different light. So, that's why this is being posted.


Hold on Tight
To realize the value of a sister:
Ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when
you can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.


I thought about all of those things. I realized that those who are wise and do what is right are under God's control. What they do is also under his control. But a man doesn't know whether God will show favor to him. Everyone will die someday. Death comes to godly and sinful people alike. It comes to good and bad people alike. It comes to "clean" and "unclean" people alike. Those who offer sacrifices and those who don't offer them also die. A good person dies, and so does a sinner. Those who take oaths die. So do those who are afraid to take them.

Here's what is so bad about everything that happens on this earth. Death catches up with all of us. Also, the hearts of people are full of evil. They live in foolish pleasure. After that, they join those who have already died.

Anyone who is living still has hope. Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! People who are still alive know they'll die. But those who have died don't know anything. They don't receive any more rewards. And they are soon forgotten. Their love, hate and jealousy disappear. They will never share again in anything that happens on earth.

Go and enjoy your food. Be joyful as you drink your wine. Now is the time God favors what you do. Always wear white clothes to show you are happy. Anoint your head with olive oil. You love your wife. So enjoy life with her. Do it all the days of this meaningless life God has given you on earth. That's what he made you for. That's what you get for all of your hard work on earth.

No matter what you do, work at it with all your might. Remember, you are going to your grave. And there isn't any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there.

Here's something else I've seen on this earth. Races aren't always won by those who run fast. Battles aren't always won by those who are strong. Wise people don't always have plenty of food. Clever people aren't always wealthy. Those who have learned a lot aren't always favored. God controls the timing of every event. He also controls how things turn out.

A man doesn't know when trouble will come to him. Fish are caught in nets. Birds are taken in traps. And people are trapped by hard times that come when they don't expect them.

~ Ecclesiastes 9 (NIRV)