To live is to live life to the fullest

As I sit here, I can't get the image of the elderly man staring into space out of my head. The elderly man was the man I took to shower to assess how he is going with it, the one with dementia, the one who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.

I wondered what he was thinking. I tried stepping into his shoes and pictured how humiliating it must be to have a stranger watching and helping him. He told me later he wanted to go somewhere because he was getting tired of the place, and I took him to the garden. And when I walked away to continue my job, that was when I caught him looking into space.

I felt my heart break for him. For others. When there were two deaths a few days ago, I was reminded of when my own grandmother passed away.

What is life? What is it like to live till an old age, to be faced with uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring? To have loved ones taken away one by one? To have memory and body failing you?

And as I pondered, I do not know the answers. Maybe I will one day. What really matters now for me are the big important lessons I'm learning every single day. That life is short. Our time here on earth is precious, and it is timed.

Every working day, I am reminded of that. I am reminded that I have my youth now, I have the capacity, the ability, and the opportunities to go the distance. I realise that I do not want to short change my time for things that will not mean anything when I'm 80. I will have all the time in the world to myself then, for now, I want to make each day matter not only to myself but to someone else.

I want to live each day to the fullest. I want to love like I never have. I want to lay down my life for God and for people. There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to live for. God will take care of that but first; I have to be willing to surrender, to trust and to obey Him.

I want to truly live so that maybe, just maybe, when I'm old, I will have done all the things God put me here on earth to do. I will have spent all the time I have wisely that I will not have any regrets. I will be prepared to meet my Maker, and spend my remaining days contented with the blessings I have.

I will stare into space reminded of the great things God has done in my life, and dream about finally meeting God whom I love most face to face. And just maybe, I will recite to those young sweet people about my journey home.

Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, every single day. May I after being awakened, work towards living it out, and fight against falling back into slumber.

May the depths of your soul and spirit be awakened to that fact so God can do something new and amazing in you each day. May you truly live and live truly.

'Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom' Psalm 90:12

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