I have found that nothing speaks to life like death.
Whether it is the vast numbers of those deceased during the pandemic; a tragic accident; or the natural process that ends a tenure in the land of the living; for the survivors, death brings a contemplation about life even more than the miracle of a birth.
It is a contemplation that spans the gambit of life: a remembrance of the past, an evaluation of the present, and a question as to how to live in the future.
Yes, nothing speaks to life like death.
Right now, I am living the question as to how to live in the future—at 65 years of age. Several months back the last of our family’s parents died. From May of 2001 to May of 2022, we lost a parent over the years with my mother being the last. With each passing my wife and I went through the contemplation of life.
But this last death was different.
When that last parent dies, I found the reality of “you’re next” surfaces. Not in a morbid way, but just sensibly.
A friend who had experienced the same several years ago said it well, “Your insulation is lost.” The thought of a wire stripped of its colored insulation, the copper line now laying bare resonated in my spirit. What an impression that four-word sentence made in my mind.
Now, in the natural order of life, there is nothing between me and the element called death.
The reality of all the things I could do, or all the things I want to do are now time sensitive. Just how do I want to live this last, uninsulated, season of life?
Thankfully, I am not alone in answering that question. The Lord Jesus, the One whose death not just spoke of life, but gave life eternal, is with me. He has a plan for my life’s winter season.
By His mercy and grace, I have found His plan.
I will rejoice in it.
I will write about it.
And I will share it with you, openly and uninsulated, with the hope of being a blessing.
Following our last parental death, the revelation of my life’s mission is both a commission and a prayer:
“O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:17, 18).
Let the declarations begin again and may they be all He desires them to be, in Jesus Name!
