THE BLOG

Now that New Year’s Day has passed, so has any real thought that on December 31 when the clock struck midnight, the very next click of the clock ushered in an opportunity for us to wipe the slate clean from 2023 and to start afresh. By January 2, life reminded us that those difficult things we brought to the New Year’s Eve celebration—such as our financial challenges, soured relationships, and health issues—are still very much a part of life. Though the arrival of 2024 has not given us an opportunity to start afresh, it has provided us an opportunity to identify specific areas in our lives which could benefit from a minor tweak all the way to a major overhaul.  The possibilities are endless—habits, character traits, priorities, physical conditioning, relationships—just to name a few.  Let me prime the pump by suggesting something many of us may need to work on—a lack of patience.  

She was a fourth-grade little girl named Annie. Her appearance spoke of her poverty: unkempt, clothes, tennis shoes donated by the school counselor, school-provided breakfast and lunches, poor hygiene.  But on the inside, she was priceless.  On the last day of school before Christmas break, Annie stood watching her teacher, Mrs. Ray, open gifts from the twenty students who were excitedly gathered around her.  Unnoticed by anyone, Annie retrieved some discarded wrapping paper from the trash can, and then returned to her desk to wrap a small box.  Later as the class enjoyed cupcakes, Annie went to Mrs. Ray, and while extending to her the box she had wrapped, quietly said, “Don’t let anybody else see.” 

When death pulls the trigger with its sights set on you, will you—will I—be ready? That thought has been on my mind recently not in a morbid sense, but in the sense of a sobering reminder that with each advancing year, death becomes a greater reality for me. What triggered my reflection and pondering is that recently I learned that one of my high school classmates had just lost his year-long battle with cancer. Reading his obituary caused me to reflect on my own approaching appointment with death—a date not yet on my calendar but still an assured reality nonetheless. He was less than one day younger than me. Once again, life had given me a sobering reminder that the ratio of death to people is still one per person.