We aren’t promised tomorrow…
6/16/2016
A mother’s heart has been on my mind all week. Without even knowing it she sent me weeping into the Father’s arms tonight during worship at church. Following the horrible events in Orlando this week, one young man’s interview impacted me in a very profound way. This handsome, articulate, grieving young man, a survivor of the nightclub massacre, tragically lost his loving partner that fateful night. He told a tear-filled story of a life ended too quickly, plans that would never be realized, and a love story cut short, all too soon. He said his partner’s family traveled in from Louisiana and they were grieving in a nearby hotel. The reporter asked how the family had come to know the fate of their son. “I called a friend of a friend who called his sister.” That answer broke my heart. This couple had been together for years, had a home together, traveled together, planned a future together. That the surviving partner could not pick up the phone and call his loved one’s mother broke my heart. For him, of course. But especially, for her.
Without knowing her, I’m certain this mother loved her son. No matter the circumstances or life choices that caused this fracture between a mother and her child, that conflict now can never be undone. I can only imagine how she will beat herself up and run imaginary conversations through her head time after time after time thinking, “what if?” She will grieve not only the loss of her child, but she will grieve the conversations she should have had, the hugs she should have given, the visits she should have made. She’ll imagine how she could have tried to make it right. And she’ll play it over and over and over in her head.
Life is too short. How many of us are in need of reconciliation? How many of us think it will come in time if you just do nothing and wait? What if you have no time? What if tonight is the last chance you have to pick up the phone, or better yet get in the car and choose love over being right? It doesn’t mean you’ll agree on everything or that you’ll even be received, but you control what you are in control of, and love is an action word.
The events in Orlando this week, if they teach us nothing more, should be a heavy reminder that life is precious, and that we only have the promise of this moment on this earth. Nothing more. Love well, and do it now.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.