Tales from the Darkside

"They say that death causes clarity.
To see everything as it should be.
Well, I have seen death and he's seen me.
We wave as we pass by on the street."
-Mark Mills

I've seen a lot of death in this new year. (And that's not just the recent rash of celebrity deaths that seem to take more and more of my childhood away!) Several good friends have either died, or had some one close die, in just the last couple of months. With each one, I realize that my own death is just as easily close as any I see. I've faced serious health issues in my adult life, after each one, sticking out my tongue and saying "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah-nah!", at least in the light.

Facing a crises can fundamentally change a person, and I'm no different.
1. Always a worrier, I now worry just a little less.
2. Important issues change their priority, some dropping out of sight entirely.
3. I'm more likely to say out loud what I used to keep to myself, because as my doctor told me "When you've faced down death, you don't have time for the B.S. any more!"
4. I've learned that there is nothing more solid on earth than my wife's love, and I can trust in that love always.
5. I've learned that I can trust and lean on God for all things, and the more I lean on Him, the more love He gives, and the more I then thirst for His love. A beautiful cycle that only grows stronger.
6. And I find strength in surrender.

This is not a post for sadness, but joy. Friends who have passed we long for, but their arrival into Glory is more beautiful than words. Daily I'm reminded of my own mortality, but the clarity it brings, and the love I've found, make me better than I ever could have hoped to be otherwise. All in all, life is a pretty sweet ride.

Psalm 23