Fragility of Life
His Dad had cancer seven years ago; and his Mum has been diagnosed with cancer lately. And my one of my uncle passed away the night before Holy Thursday. A week later another uncle of mine was admitted to the hospital. I was talking over the phone with Mum, and I could feel what she had gone through, having to face fear, pain, suffering and death.
It made me wonder how fragile life is: like a flame on a cake, with only a puff of wind; it is extinguished with insignificant trace of smoke vanishing into thin air. And the candle wax, in no time cooled down and hardened into total lifelessness.
On Holy Thursday, three generations were sitting side by side at the pew. To my left was a small boy aged about 5; to my right, an old uncle aged probably 80 years old. It came to me that I was once as small as the 5-year-old kid on my left, stubborn and mischievous. And I was growing and aging, and in no time, I would be in my sixties, seventies or if God willed, eighties.
Time and tide wait for no man.
“What is life all about?” remains unanswered. I believe I can only fully comprehend the meaning of life until I finally meet God face to face. What I am to expect, I truly do not know. Reflecting on my childhood, my schooling years, my campus life and my current state of life, I find my image of God keeps changing. I guess the changing image of God comes into picture because I am growing in relationship with the Lord. Perhaps that is also what life is all about: life is about being dynamic and not static, being creative yet being faithful.
There is so much to learn from life and from its fragility. It is never easy to be human and to be fully human. Teach me, Lord.
(New Office, Johor Bahru)
It made me wonder how fragile life is: like a flame on a cake, with only a puff of wind; it is extinguished with insignificant trace of smoke vanishing into thin air. And the candle wax, in no time cooled down and hardened into total lifelessness.
On Holy Thursday, three generations were sitting side by side at the pew. To my left was a small boy aged about 5; to my right, an old uncle aged probably 80 years old. It came to me that I was once as small as the 5-year-old kid on my left, stubborn and mischievous. And I was growing and aging, and in no time, I would be in my sixties, seventies or if God willed, eighties.Time and tide wait for no man.
“What is life all about?” remains unanswered. I believe I can only fully comprehend the meaning of life until I finally meet God face to face. What I am to expect, I truly do not know. Reflecting on my childhood, my schooling years, my campus life and my current state of life, I find my image of God keeps changing. I guess the changing image of God comes into picture because I am growing in relationship with the Lord. Perhaps that is also what life is all about: life is about being dynamic and not static, being creative yet being faithful.
There is so much to learn from life and from its fragility. It is never easy to be human and to be fully human. Teach me, Lord.
(New Office, Johor Bahru)
I'm sorry to hear about your uncle's passing..
ReplyDeletefear.. shock.. disbelief.. and ultimately, death.. i know that feeling... that ambiguity... of what's going to happen next... it was the most terrifying thing i had ever experienced when my brother was admitted to hospital last year in sept... just 2 days later... he passed away. just 2 days......... until now i still get frighten thinking about it... and how hopeless we were... as we couldn't do anything to relief his suffering... but just these few days, i could sense he is around here... with us. till now, i don't think he has gone yet.. maybe physically, but definitely not spiritually. he is very much alive in me.. in my heart.
life is fragile.. like a dream.... here one day, gone the next....
Yea, death seems so remote & unreal until it catches us off guard.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for your brother as well.
I guess these happenings are telling us that we will not live forever, so we should not take things and people around us for granted.
Let's seize the day and live life to the fullest.