A normal day in the life of me, usually consists of writing my daily blog at 6 AM.  A few household chores follow.  Yesterday I ventured out to do my weekly grocery shopping, which has become less than a fun task.  Moving at my age has become less than fun.  In the afternoon, Paul and I planted some flowers and laid some mulch in our backyard.  By the time we finished, it was 3 PM and  time to retrieve our granddaughter for a short visit.  She would have supper with us and then be off to do some volunteer work with special needs kids.

I love being with this lovely sixteen year old who once referred to me as her favorite grandma – on her mother’s side.  There are times, as with any sixteen year old, that those times aren’t so lovely, but that’s a whole different topic.  As we sat down to dinner, the news was reporting an abortion ban protest taking place in our city.  This sparked a conversation on the topic of that very thing.  Our granddaughter goes to a secular high school and is exposed to both sides of the abortion coin.  We discussed the fact that a woman had a right to make a decision about her own body, but also hers wasn’t the only body to consider.  This young lady is very strong willed and I’m glad she is.  It’s tough having opinions that conflict with your peers when you’re a teen.  She truly believes in the right to life.

Shortly after dinner, we learned that a mutual friend was experiencing the trauma of having their granddad airlifted from a car accident with life threatening injuries.

It was nearing 7 PM and the effects of our gardening were wearing on Paul and my aging bodies.  Aches and pains were settling in, as seems to be the norm these days.

This morning, friend Julie is on her way to be with her newborn grandson who was rushed to hospital with a high fever.

All of these incidents, occurring in just a matter of hours, has me thinking about how very fragile our lives are.  Life is so short when you think about it.  We take each day as it comes, but we rarely think about what difficulty we might face.  For the Christian, we know that life never ends. Our death is merely the beginning of a perfect life.  Still while we inhabit the earth, we struggle, we hurt, we get sad, we try and sometimes succeed while other times we fail and beat ourselves up.

Every day should be treasured, not because it’s a time to do things right, but because it’s a time of grace allowing us to share God’s love with others.  In living our lives to that end, we’re doing what God wants us to do.

If you aren’t making use of every day, you’re losing massive amounts of opportunities.  You’re simply existing.  You’re just going through the motions.  Starting today, think of each day as the first day of the rest of your life.   Be ready to accept what is thrown at you and turn it into something beneficial for someone.  God made each one of us with unique and wonderful talents and gifts.  Our lifetime is designed for us to use each of those gifts for the benefit of others.

Thankfully, our God is in the midst of each day.  He’s there to pull us through  to pull up our boot straps, to push us forward and to stand beside us all the way.  When we can no longer stand, He will carry us.