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Have you ever faced death? No? Then take a minute to thank the good Lord in heaven that you haven’t. Facing the possibility that you could die can change your perspective on many things. Stuff is no longer important and people become far more important. I know, I have had a couple of near death experiences.

I have experienced things that could have ended my life. From the dirty old pervert trying to pick me up as I walked down the street, to the two cars I totaled and walked away from, to the husband high on crack who tried to take my loaded pistol. Life has not always been easy for me. I have done stupid things that were risky and had things done that could have turned out very tragically for me. What they have all taught me is that nothing in this life should be taken for granted. Not a single day is guaranteed. We could die of a heart attack at a young age or live until we are so old we do not even know who we are anymore. But what will all this life get us if we do not at least try to be good or do some kind of good while we are here? Do you know God? Have you run from conversations about Him? Or do you accept that God puts people in our lives that are supposed to be in our lives. It is our job to figure out if they are in our lives so we can teach them something or for them to teach us something. Maybe they are in our lives to remind us that kindness is important, or that we need to care more about life or that maybe they are just there so we can realize how fortunate we really are.

What about those who hurt us? Well, those who hurt us with words are there to make us think. Those who are abusive I don’t know why they are here, except to help us find the limits of what we will tolerate and whether we will protect others from them or will we just escape and find a new path for ourselves. Sometimes, I think God brings us bad people because He knows we can survive it while others would be so crushed they would end their own lives. Perhaps they are in our lives because in some small way we will make them regret their own choices. I don’t know. I can guess and imagine all day about that.

But when you have faced the possibility of death, you see things differently.  A messy room isn’t as serious a problem anymore than making sure your loved ones know you love them. I’d rather die in a pile of filth and trash than die with my children thinking I never loved them. Even if they do not come see me or call me often, I am comforted knowing that they know I loved them. Mistakes and all, they know my heart was in the right place.  That is the one thing I could not survive if I had not been able to tell them I loved them and believe they know it’s true.  It makes the arguments, hurt feelings and misunderstandings bearable. They can hate me all day long as long as they know I loved them. They can resent something I did as long as they know I love them it will all be alright. There is no other human being who I need to know I love them aside from my parents.

Do you know what the one thing on earth you require to be happy? Is it the neatly pressed clothes, fine car, big house or is it the people in your life? We all measure success by things first and by relationships second. Face death and perhaps your perspective of what is really important will change. I do not wish bad things on people, just hope to help those who are fortunate enough to not face such things to consider what is really important in spite of not facing the ultimate test. I promise, you will not care if others have nicer things than you. You will think only about those you care for and if they know how much they mean to you!

iPatriot Contributers

 

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