All Packed And Ready To Go

At work today my boss told me of a family he heard about going through an unbelievably horrible time. While the family was vacationing in Yellow Stone they decided to go rafting in the Snake River. During a break the seven year old son got caught up in some rapids and was being pulled away from the group. The dad jumped in and saved his son and in the process was himself swept away and has not been found yet. The boy is beside himself and unwilling to leave the park where he last saw his dad. During our conversation, my boss looked at me and asked me if I had everything in order since you never know when it's your last moment. I knew what he meant. And actually the answer came to me with ease. Yes. First off, I know who my Lord and Savior is, Jesus Christ. And I believe that He is the Son of the Living God and through Him I will have eternal life. My answer came back to my boss with what appeared to be surprising quickness. Then I told him that since the whole cancer thing I have been forced to take a hard look at myself and all of my relationships. He told me that he had been thinking and he didn't kiss his son this morning because he was still asleep or even pet his dog. We both stood and thought about how quickly life can be taken away. I told him about the morning I went in for my surgery to remove my thyroid. My wife and I both took our kids to school that morning. I teared up in the driveway of the school as I watched those two beautiful children walk innocently into the school's front door. I made a very clear mental note of what they looked like because I realized that what I was seeing very well could have been the last image of my kids. I find myself doing more things like that. Not because I live my life in fear of death but because I realize how important things like that are to me. I try very hard to always tell my wife that I love her when we hang up on the phone even if I'm in the middle of meeting with a bunch of construction workers. It could be the last time either one of us ever say that to each other. I try to hug and kiss both my kids every morning and every night and tell them that I love them. I want to make sure that they hear that from me every day. It's just the little things like hugs and kisses that help me make sure that I have all my stuff packed and ready to go where ever my life might take me.