Death is real, death is near
I suppose it is because of my past that I think about death a lot. I have seen death occur up close and very personal, as have many of you. It’s not something that can be described with any degree of accuracy, even though you or I may have been in the same room when it visited. My Mom and my Dad are getting elderly and by the way of nature, it is sure they will be passing from this life. No one knows for sure when it will happen, but nature dictates it may be soon. I have thought about it often, of how it will be when it is my family’s time to walk by the casket and say goodbye for the last time.
I was reminded of how close death really is this week and it was from a very unexpected source. A friend of mine whom I grew up with was training to join the Choctaw Nation Police Force and after doing a mile jog, came home and died within a few short minutes. He had had open heart surgery earlier this year, but he seemed to be doing much better. Even so, death claimed him on Wednesday and it has been quite a shock. He was about two years younger than myself, being only 44 years old.
We expect to see older people die and the obituary page is full of the reports every day. When it comes right down to it, however, death is no respecter of persons. It visits every age, from the very young to the very old and everyone in between. I would have never expected to see this man die so young, even with his past health problems, but he did. His passing has made me realize that what I want to do, I need to do it now and if there are things that need to be taken care of, things that need to be undone, they need to be done now. After death has came, the things that are done will remain as they were. As the tree falleth, so shall it lie. It has made me realize and understand more than ever that death is real and it may not be so far away.
Beautiful, Larry. Simply beautiful.
Thank you, Laurie.