Countdown to Demise

I don’t think I am excessively morbid, but I often find myself thinking about death and the whole experience of dying.  I was present as three close family members took their last breaths, and I arrived on the scene shortly after two others had left this earth.  I am now the oldest person in my family of origin, so wondering about the timing of my own demise seems quite natural and not particularly depressing.

This morning, as I soaked in my lovely bathtub, I was wondering what I would do differently, if I knew ahead of time when I would die.  The online longevity calculators give me another 25 years, but it’s a bit risky to actually believe those online questionnaires, that tell you crazy things like what percent beautiful you are and whether your IQ is as high as Stephen Hawkings.

So I concluded, if I knew I would die in:

25 minutes—I would get out of the bathtub and put some clothes on.  It would be bad enough for someone to find my dead body, but imagine the trauma, if it were naked and water-logged!

25 hours—I would make some lists of my wishes, things like who should get what and details about the workings of our lives and the household that I know and Bill doesn’t

25 days—I would try to touch base with each of my children and grandchildren one more time to encourage them to give God his rightful place in their lives.  I would do some sorting and throwing out.  I have a few projects in progress that I would attempt to finish.  I would put everything I have written out on my blog and make no further attempts to get it published.

25 months—I would do more sorting and throwing out.  I would get Bill ready to move into something smaller and more convenient for him with less yard work.  I would sort through several boxes of photos and slides and have them digitalized so that the originals weren’t sitting around collecting dust.  I would not start any new projects.  I wouldn’t bother trying to sand down and refinish those old dressers at the cottage.  I would not accept any more tutoring jobs.

25 years—What if I really did have 25 years left?  I wouldn’t change much right now…other than getting out of the tub, but I would begin working on some of the previously mentioned activities.  I would start new projects.  I would continue to write.  I would work at down-sizing, but not in a frenzied way.  I would continue to be amazed at God’s faithfulness and the peace that comes from a relationship with him made possible by the shed blood of Jesus.

25 minutes, hours, days, months or years from now, I look forward to seeing him and knowing, as I am known.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.  (I Corinthians 13:12 New Living Translation)