Most of our days are lived with the appropriate perspective that life will go on for ever. That’s there always tomorrow. Sometimes, we have the privilege of facing our mortality through events that affect us personally or that we witness in the lives of others. Maybe if we’re really blessed, we get both. 

In those moments of clarity, of seeing life for the fleeting gift it is, we find ourselves with a choice: to choose life and make memories in each day. 

A dear friend and brother-in-Christ David B Rowe is contemplating that choice right now and he shares his journeying with a terminal prognosis with depth and poignant vulnerability. 

David and his wife Pixie Paris Rowe both had a significant part in my own journey of faith. Their love for Jesus, love for people and ability to creatively communicate deep truths to different people led directly to my understanding that God is real. His nurturing of my blossoming faith enabled me to more fully understand and appreciate what Jesus has done for me. Her open heart and welcoming hospitality helped me to feel a belonging to a community as I’d rarely experienced. Thank you both. 

I also remember my own epiphany seven years ago when my heart stopped and I was resuscitated. I value the pacemaker that now maintains a heartbeat. 

I confess the exquisite joy of realising I had avoided death and the clarity of choosing fullness of days to the best of my ability eventually receded. I have returned to living my life less than I could. I have forgotten that each day is a gift from God.

Today I heard this simple song and it reminded me to live in the moment – whether they be days of highs or lows – right till the end, when I will know the joy of meeting Jesus face to face.