A time will come when every man must take a bow to the silent applause of a choir of angels, sit down, and wait to be called. Those of us who are enjoying good health in our twilight years realize that calling could come at any moment. A medical emergency, an accidental fall, or any number of unforeseen calamities could bring an immediate end to living comfortably in our own homes. It is an inevitable reality we do not like to think about.
Preparing for the inevitable means having our “affairs” in order, perhaps writing or updating a will, buying cemetery plots and making pre-planned funeral arrangements. It could mean letting go of some long-held possessions that would be treasured by someone entrusted to their care. It could also mean discarding items that hold no sentimental value to anyone else. Someone will need to clean up after us someday. That is not a pleasant job, so making it easier is a loving thing to do.
I have a shed filled with junk I never use, file cabinets with instruction manuals for appliances that no longer exist, an attic with boxes from my mother’s house after she died twenty-seven years ago. I saved them because they reminded me of my childhood with mom and dad, but they will mean nothing to anyone but me.
Our aging bodies will eventually remind us of our mortality. Those aches and pains gradually break us down. Our souls, however, do not age and therefore, we need to be reminded to prepare our souls for immortality. Once our body and soul separate, our fate is sealed. The particular judgement will determine our final destination and how we will spend eternity.
We likely spend too much time worrying about our bodies and not enough time tending to our souls. Do we make more trips to the doctor’s office than we do the confessional? Of whose care are we in most need, the general practitioner or the Divine Physician? Something to think about.
