TREASURE THEM NOW BEFORE THEY’RE GONE
If you knew your spouse was going to die five months from now, what would you change? What would your perspective be in light of their imminent death? How would you treat them now? Would each moment and memory finally become treasured to you? Realizing you only have a few more months with them, would you finally begin to express to them now how much they mean to you, and tell them what a tremendous blessing they are to your life?
Over the last 8 years I’ve had 19 married friends who’ve lost their spouse. Almost every one happened suddenly, without warning. It’s been a constant reminder to me—as I keep a list in my journal of each friend who’s passed away—of just how brief life really is, how quickly someone we love can be taken from us, and then they’re gone.
I’ve not had the chance to visit with these friends about all that they’ve felt since the loss of their spouse. But I can imagine many might have wished they’d told their spouse far more often how much they meant to them. Many probably wished they had expressed and shown them greater appreciation, focused on the positives, and treasured their time together a great deal more.
In a few days my wife will be 69, and in a few months I will be 70. I am acutely aware that most of our lives are behind us now. I thank God every day for the time He has given me with Kathy. I reflect daily on the blessing she is to my life, and just how blessed I’ve been to have such a loyal, loving, devoted, and godly wife. She has loved me like no other person in the world. She has put up with me, and accepted all my idiosyncrasies like no other person in the world. She is the truest and best friend I’ve ever had. I am determined to love her with expressive gratitude, expressed appreciation, and attentive, devoted service, every day of the rest of our time together.
I urge you—tell them now, write it to them now, show them now—just how much they mean to you. Be expressive and specific now in your praise and appreciation, while there’s still time. Find ways to do this the rest of your time together. Don’t let these fleeting moments pass you by. Be to them now the spouse you really want to be.
Don’t be the person who waits till the funeral of their spouse to tell their lifeless body what a wonderful person they were, and how much they meant to you. For at that moment, they can’t hear you! It means nothing to them lying in their coffin.
This thought provoking article reflects the seldom considered Biblical wisdom of Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 NLT—“It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only of having a good time now.”
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
