January 22, 2016

Prepare For When You’re Gone

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

-- Psalm 139:16

One of the most difficult things we do on this earth is prepare for the time we will leave it. We need to make our wishes known, in writing, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. We want to procrastinate, to put it off for another day. There is no guarantee that another day will come.

We know that this is not our home. Thankfully, I might add. This is just temporary. But our minds can’t conceive how wonderful heaven will be. We can’t imagine not being here. And that’s what preparing for death is all about -- imagining what will happen when we aren’t here anymore.

I am looking forward to heaven. I can’t wait to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him talk. I want to hear the stories of old from those who lived the moments. And I desperately want to hug my loved ones who have already gone home.

That doesn’t mean I want to think about the time when I’m not here to have a say in what happens to what I valued when I was alive. So I take steps to make sure I do have a say, that my wishes are honored, that people I trust will handle it all.

I’ve also taken steps to ensure that the end of my life comes as it should. I’ve seen friends who agonized over end of life decisions because they weren’t sure what their loved one wanted. I don’t want there to be any doubts. I don’t want to be here with my body tethered to machines with no hope of recovery. Let me go. It takes a strong person to make that call. It takes a person of faith. The decision comes easier when wishes are made known ahead of time.

I have no idea how long I’ll live on this earth. None of us do. God numbers our days. Prepare for the trip home by preparing what you’ll leave behind.