“You have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.” // James 4:14
I felt the familiar vibration of a text notification in my pocket. A message from my sister with a prayer request: a friend of her friend had been tragically killed in a car accident, along with her husband. The Catholic couple left behind their six young children. My stomach dropped and my heart broke as I began to try to wrap my mind around the devastation of such a loss. Lord, have mercy.
Just the day before I had finished re-reading Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Our Town. One line has stayed with me all these many years since I first read it as a high schooler. In the third act the character Emily, now deceased, looks back at a day from her life and asks from her grave, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?—every, every minute?” (source).
Do we, sister? Do we realize what a gift we have in every blessed moment the Lord bestows upon us? More often than I care to admit, I find myself mindlessly scrolling social media, lost in thought on some worldly anxiety, or simply going through the motions of my daily routine. I am distracted from the details of my life, failing to really live in the present. Open my eyes to Your presence, Lord.
I want to grin at my daughter’s sticky face as popsicle juice drips down her chin. I want to inhale the sweet scent of my beloved roses every single time I pass them in bloom. I want to notice the grays appearing in my husband’s hair as we grow older together. I want to live fully alive! I want to live well, that one day I might spend eternity with You.
Father, creator of every good gift, thank You for this moment. Help me to recognize the beauty and wonder You delight in giving me. Holy Spirit, inspire in me a deeper desire to seek Your will for my one precious life—every, every minute of it. Amen.
Elise Howe is a wife, mother, vocal artist, and teacher. She is most joyful when creating with the inspiration of the Divine Artist. Elise hopes to live a life full of authentic beauty—especially through her song, her cut-flower garden, great books, delicious ice cream, and her yes to the Father. A born-and-raised Midwestern gal, she happily resides in Michigan with her husband, son, and three daughters. She was a contributing author to Set a Fire and Blessed Conversations: Misericordia.
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