As I sat in the waiting room of the eye doctor one afternoon this week, I noticed the amount of older adults. I was by far the youngest person awaiting my name to be called in a sea of people I assume to be in their last decade of life on earth. Some came with a spouse, but most came alone. Many of these seniors had the same quiet, observational demeanor and when their name was called, most relied on some sort of walking aid. Their gait was slow and steadied but determined to make it to the kind, patient nurse who announced their name to the room. 

I couldn’t help but think about how fleeting life is. We are born and rely on the assistance of a parent to care for us, but as we grow we are determined to be independent and no longer want help of any kind. If I listed the amount of times I’ve heard my kids say, “Mom, I know!” or “I don’t need help!,” it would be more than I could count. From teen years to adulthood, we crave the freedom that liberation brings. Wanting to be free from needing something or someone for decades, until our bodies start to break down and we are reminded of our humanity. Of our frailness. Of our finite existence. 

Tomorrow is never promised and today is an opportunity to not waste the preciousness of time. Go outside, seek wisdom from older saints, plant a garden, laugh, give someone a hug, read a book, do a puzzle, bake a cake, try something new, call someone you’ve been meaning to call, invest in your close relationships, serve someone in a way in which you have to sacrifice something. After all, Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice so we could live. In striving to be independent from worldly things, we should strive to grow in dependence of Him.

Life on earth is short, but eternity with or without Him is long. 

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” James 4:14