When I was really young I had no concept of death.  Everyone in my life always existed and I always existed.  I had no idea that life had a beginning or an end. Everything just was.  I didn’t know what change was even as things changed around me.  I would say that I thought I would live forever but I didn’t really think about what forever was… I was just a kid.  

One day that all changed when someone I cared about was taken from me, she was taken from this life.  Everyone around me told me about the life that was after this.  I didn’t fully understand but I was comforted by the fact that someday I would see that person again.  As I got older and learned about the life after this, I wondered how important was our life here on earth.  Is this a test?  Why is it important if there was a forever after this?  Will we remember all of our special moments?  They say there is no sadness in this forever but will I remember the sad times?  The good and the bad have made me who I am.  If I don’t remember those sad moments will I still be me?  

Then one day everything changed.  I discovered that this was the only life we have and it was temporary.  I won’t see my loved ones again.  I won’t be able to see how this world ends.  I just have this one life.  It was a sad realization.  All that I believed had come crashing down.

But something unexpected happened.  I discovered that it is a miracle that I’m alive.  This life became more important.  Those special finite moments with the people I care about became more precious. I learned to respect people for who they are and where they are without wanting to change them.  Of course if someone was hurting themselves I still come along side them to lift them up but I no longer feared for where they spend eternity.  

We only have this one life.  It is important to enjoy the miracle of what we have while we are here.  Enjoy those people who come and go and hold close those things that you learn from them.  Sure, we will never see how the story ends and in just a few short years after we die we will be forgotten but the influence we have on future generations will be felt for many years to come even if they don’t know we had a part in it.

Take the time to be present with and for those you love.  Enjoy the fact that you get these moments even if they are temporary.  The fact that they are temporary makes them even more special and when it is time to go know that you made your mark on this world and your contribution has made a difference in the lives of the people you love and in the lives of people that you never met. And don’t let anyone take that from you.  Enjoy the miracle that is YOU.