Here today and gone tomorrow…

I’m sure you have heard this phrase at some time in your life. We apply it to all sorts of things: seasons, gardens, jobs, and various other things.

But the greatest one that we all will have participation in is—death. I went to the memorial service of the father of a friend of mine the other day. I went to show respect and love. I hadn’t met her father, but I was soon to get a vivid picture of who the man was.

She was given the joy of sharing memories about her father; I listened intently as she began to paint a picture of a man who was a father in every aspect of the title. My mind was listening, but my heart was trying to avoid the stirring feelings as I heard her words.

Her father was an incredible person. She started with his early childhood, talking about stories he shared with her and her siblings. Some were humorous, and somehow he wondered how he made it through those years. He suffered more than his share of childhood dings and dents. His lust for life put him in precarious situations that perhaps most boys his age would have avoided. But he made it through and became a young man with new desires and dreams.

One of which was to join the military. It’s one of the often-told stories of being underage and having to have a parent sign for them—which his mother did. His father, as it turned out, wasn’t too happy about the decision.

But the military helped him grow up, and he shuffled through a mixture of jobs. Settling on driving supplies to the soldiers. It was very evident as my friend shared these stories that her father was a dedicated giver.

He found the Lord in mid-life and felt the need to serve even more. It became his lifelong pursuit. What stuck in my mind was how he treated his children. Here was a father who actually loved his children, played with them, laughed with them, and gave of himself to them.

I didn’t have such a father. To this day, whenever I see a man loving his little girl, it amazes me. Yes, most men want a son, but there is something in the eyes of a man who looks at his little girl as a prize he won in life! My friend’s father was such a man.

I came home and was surprised by the lingering feelings that followed me even into my sleep. I kept thinking—this man is gone. Not to sound morose, but he was cremated. So, I guess you could say that he isn’t completely physically gone. That’s not making light of the fact that he will never be gone because of the legacy of his life he left behind in memories with those who loved and knew him.

But what bothered me throughout the night was the fact that one day we are here and the next we are gone physically. I thought about the millions of people that I have no idea even existed.  Of course, some famous individuals did something significant enough in this world that they are still being remembered to this day. We who interacted with those who have passed away are the only ones who remember that that person existed.

Going to a funeral makes you think about who will remember you when it’s your time to leave this world. I wondered how many people lived such a solitary life that there was not a soul who remembered that they even existed. I’m sure there are cases where this happened. They were here today and gone tomorrow without a single person remembering that they too once were a living, breathing human being. I thought that no matter what the lifestyle, whether a loved friend or a lifelong hidden-from-the-world person, there is a void. But voids never last. Something always fills a void-life goes on.

Leaving this world will be the same for all of us. It will be like a door opening; we walk through it, and it closes, and we never come back. It’s the memories we make by interacting with others that, even in the smallest circle, we say we were here.

As a Christian, I know that this life is only a brief one. Whether I’m remembered by even a few, that’s not the end of me. My friend’s father laid aside his earthly housing, walked through that door, and is physically gone.

You and I will do that very same thing one day. If you don’t know the Lord, then there is a big difference between us. I have someone waiting on me to walk through the other side of that door who will welcome me home. It’s where I started, and it’s where I will eventually go back to. The Word says that we were all with Him before the foundation of the world.

You might not believe that you existed with God before you existed here. One way or the other, you will end up standing back before God.

It’s always my prayer that someone who stumbles upon my blog will be convicted of their need for salvation. Maybe today it will be you.

I bless you.