Life and Death

After reading Matt D's Blog about his Dad, I started going through the memories I had during that same circumstacnce 10 years ago. My Dad was diagnosed with brain Cancer around 1996. After years of roller coaster emotions, we were told in 1998 that he didn't have much time to live.
We have a small but close family and we gathered the whole family and went to the beach for a long weekend. We laughed and cried and spent the weekend fellowshiping together as if it was our last time together.
Shortly after, his personality and demeanor changed. He was like a different person. He had always been kind and loving and fun to be around, but the cancer and/or the treatments had caused a sharp change.
He died in June of that year. For a short time my memories were of him as he was towards the end and how his body and mind had diminished. But I thank God for the time we had before then, the time at the beach is what I remember now, happy.
He was a believer and he KNEW his destination and that his affliction would be over soon. How gracious our God is for giving us peace during these times.
Pray for Matt, pray that his family will know this same peace during this time, that they will enjoy this time together and will remember the good times.
Remember we are only here to serve him for a short time, and we will spend eternity glorifying our Father in heaven, reunited with our loved ones.
Don't wait till a loved one is given a short time to live. I especially need to remember to love and laugh and enjoy my friends and family every moment, not only when the end is near.