By: Donna Martin
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Recently we visited an elderly woman in the hospital. That morning she had been given the diagnosis that she had a terminally ill condition. The doctors did not give her much hope. However, the sweet lady was not sad or filled with despair. She pointed to a picture on the table across the bed. It was a picture of her grandson and her. It was a beautiful picture. They were standing and looking at each other both smiling.
“That was taken a few weeks ago at my grandson’s wedding,” she said. “The whole family was there. I guess this is why,” she explained. At that moment in her life the thing that meant the most to her was that she had been given the opportunity to be with her entire family one last time. Many of the family including the grandmother had traveled across the country to be at that wedding. No one probably was thinking that it would be the last time the entire family was together. But the memory of that moment was such a comfort to this lady now as she lay there in her bed alone with only her daughter by her side. She pointed to a note hanging on the wall that one of her granddaughters had written. “I will miss seeing the young grandchildren grow up,” she said.
Our life is made up of a collection of moments. Each one is important to the collection. Each person that we meet, each kind deed that we do, each moment that we spend with a loved one – all these moments create our life. What kind of life are you creating? Ephesians 5: 15-16a states “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity..”
Today Mike and I are celebrating our 42nd anniversary. Those 42 years have been filled with all kinds of moments mostly good, some sad, some joyful, some tragic, some magical. Our marriage has lasted through all of those moments good or bad because of the commitment we made to each other 42 years ago. That commitment was to love each other for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health until death do us part. As we get closer to the “death do us part” of our marriage we feel even more of a need to “make the most of every opportunity.” None of us are guaranteed another moment. As you live today and this week, make the most of all of your moments. Hug your kids, speak kindly to your spouse, call your mother or dad, do something nice for your in-laws. Remember each moment is a part of the rest of your life. How will you use those moments?
The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations. To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.” They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues. You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriage.com.