We’ve all been there.  Sitting silently with that feeling of defeat.  God, couldn’t you have given me ONE more chance…….just a FEW more minutes?!?!?  So say something…..ANYTHING?!?  The feelings of regret can be so overwhelming.  Wave after wave threatens to pull you under and nearly drown you.  If I had just one more chance to tell them I loved them.  If I had just one more chance to say how sorry I was for hurting them.  If I had just one more chance to talk to them about God.  If I had just one more chance to………  Nope.  Time is up.  You would think by now we would have learned our lesson but history tends to repeat itself.  Who was it for you?  A close friend?  Family member?  You know who I’m talking about.  The one who was taken too soon from your life.  Maybe someone was killed in a tragic car accident.  Maybe someone chose to end their life.  Maybe you lost someone because of a terminal illness.  Whatever the cause, someone you loved was taken too soon.

Today’s blog has found me feeling somewhat nostalgic.  Remembering loved ones I’ve lost too soon and, sadly, others I might soon be losing.  While my flesh says, I wish I could have one more chance to say my spirit man poses an even more important questions.  Am I ready should my time come?  Are YOU ready should God take you right now?  Just as important, are my/your family and friends ready to stand before their Maker?  These are some of the most important question we will ever answer.  What are we doing to lead others to an all-sufficient, loving, forgiving God?  It’s natural to desire just “one more time” with that loved one but what are we doing with the time we have right now?  Who is that person we should have gone to ask or grant forgiveness to so long ago?  Who is that person you’ve been putting off visiting for so long?  Who do you need to call to say, “I just called to let you know I was thinking about you and love you.”  Who do you need to contact to say, “Let me introduce you to a friend that sticks closer than a brother”?  Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”  Death isn’t the part to be feared.  If we are not ready, judgment is what we have need of worrying about.  There’s hope today.  Truly, He is our ONLY hope.  It’s natural to feel loss, emptiness, and void.  Thankfully there is One who can fill every void if we let him.  I pose two final questions, though I already know the answer to both—Do you/I have unfinished business?  What are you (we) waiting for?  Don’t leave something unsaid.  Don’t put things off any longer.  Stop hesitating to make that visit.  Someone needs the God in you today.

You’ll have to excuse me for a little while.  I have phone calls and visits to make.