Life is too short...

Life is too short.

And sometimes life is painfully too long.

On the day that a husband, small children, a mother, a best friend, and a community say goodbye to someone they loved deeply and lost tragically, my heart is heavy.   I keep hearing the cliché "life is too short".

Working in health care I have the privilege of hearing people's stories.  Not long after I learned of Jen's death I was working with an elderly woman who was in her nineties.  Life hasn't been easy to her.  That day she needed someone to listen; I was that someone. 

"My husband has since passed.  My friends have all passed.  My kids are busy making lives of their own.  I live with a bunch of old people, just like me, who are just passing the time.  And now here I am, needing help to even walk.  Sometimes you just wonder why you're still here, you know?  What's the point?" she asked, with weariness in her eyes.  I wish I had all the answers.

My heart is heavy.

Oh how my heart longs to feel connected and whole. 

It's the reason I surround myself with people I love and who love me. 

If I'm being honest, it's the reason I withdraw and get alone when earthly attempts at wholeness fall short, leaving me empty.

The reality is, I am not alone in this longing.  We were created for wholeness.  We were created for an unbreakable connection.  We were created for perfect fellowship and community. 

Our hearts were not created to be broken by love lost, or beat down by years of unmet expectations and unfulfilled dreams. Our hearts were not created to be crushed by the everyday weight of the pressures of the world.  They were not created to be stifled by the never ending to-do lists.  They were not created to be fortified by impenetrable walls.   Our hearts were not created to be shattered by the sudden death of a young mother of 3 beautiful children.

 

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."  1 Cor. 15:19

This world is not our home.  And because of our brokenness in a fallen world, it never will be. 
We are but sojourners, on a journey to a better place.  A place where His presence is eternally enough.  We have hope beyond this life.

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."  Psalm 84:6

And so we journey on.  With our strength found in Christ alone and our hearts set on the pilgrimage.  Some days skipping down the path, others sprinting, and on days like today, moving inch by inch.  But always journeying towards home.

Live in that place of hope set on eternity.  Live with eyes wide open to those around you who may need you to slow down and walk with them.  Live with the humility to ask for the hand of the people walking next to you when you can't do it alone. 

 

"Better is one day in Your courts, than a thousand elsewhere!"  Psalm 86:10

Journey on, my friends.  God speed.

"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.  Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."
Hebrews 13:14-16