Why, you do not even know what will
happen tomorrow. What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes. James 4:14
The words of the country song emanating from my iPad
as I stepped out of the shower precipitated a torrent of tears. “If tomorrow
never comes, will she know how much I loved her?” Garth Brooks pegged it with
that one. The lyrics reminded me of a loved one’s recent medical diagnosis.
When you stop to think about it, the promise of tomorrow
belongs to no one. We will all die.
Last night’s news featured a story of the tragic
death of a high school freshman in a car accident. My father was struck by
lightning while fly fishing under a clear, blue sky. We don’t know what a given
day will bring.
As Christians, we should consider this question on a
regular basis. If tomorrow never comes for me, for you, for anyone close to us,
have we done the two most important things? Have we made certain they know the
Lord Jesus Christ? Do they know how much we love them? We must not allow
differences to divide us because we never know when a conversation will be our
last.
Right before the 2008 presidential election, my
mother and I became embroiled in a heated political argument with a close
family member who had cancer. Before we could set matters to rest and convince
him that our love for each other was the most important thing, he died. It
haunts us to this day.
It has become “the thing” in our world to stick with
our “right to disagree” to the point that the nightly news is full of
antagonism of the ugliest sort, one group pitted against another because of politics,
race, social standing, financial status, or philosophy. Hate has become the “in
thing” in our world today.
What divides you from those you love? Religion?
Politics? Family matters? Money? It is so easy to allow differences to taint
relationships between ourselves and our loved ones. It is much more difficult
to be the one to step forward and try to settle a disagreement.
If tomorrow never comes, have you asked forgiveness?
Even if you feel you’re in the right. Simply because you offended someone you
love.
Make a point of trying to set things right with
loved ones as soon as the incident occurs. We never know if tomorrow will
afford us the opportunity.
©
Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, January 19, 2017
About the author:
Norma
Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction
Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and
poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and
in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers
and Romance Writers of America. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains
of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.
Connect with
Norma:
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