Seize the Day

JUNE 4 2026 Seize the Day

Yep, that's me in the photo minus the dog. It seems that although we were born to die, we tend to avoid the subject most our life. I can still remember in first grade and onward how we studied various topics like life expectancy and many other things which held very little meaning to us children. Death was a taboo subject. Most mentions of death happened inside the funeral home, the hospital room, and the church walls. My Dad went to school in a small town and never lived more than 30 miles from where he was born, with the exception of a few years when he was overseas. Most his friends were people he had gone to school with. One day one of his friends, well he was more a friend to my Dad's brother than he was to my Dad, but his name was Jim. My Dad knew him and the family of course. We had a local diner in town which served a decent, cheap breakfast. They did a steady business from mostly locals. So Jim was in his 30's because I remember I was still in school and so he would've been around Dad's age. He was sitting eating his eggs before going to work one morning and his face fell over into his plate and he got egg on his face. He was dead. Heart attack. Just like that. It affected those who knew him, not so much because he died, but how young he was and how he died. He had kids of course. My Uncle's kids, my cousins, were good friends with his kids. They were younger than me. I remember hearing about it. People said there was nothing wrong with him. He wasn't sick or weak or showing any signs of problems. So the notion that he could suddenly die without warning hung in the air, knowing that if he went like that who among us could be guaranteed another day. So I've come to the simple conclusion that God took him as he saw fit and he'll do the same for me. Until then he's given me another day to enjoy life and so I should not complain or worry or fear. I should thank him for whatever the day brings and be happy. The wisest man that ever lived said the same thing in the book of Ecclesiastes. Enjoy life and be happy. That's the best any of us can do. And in the end make sure you fear God and keep his commandments, so you don't have to fear eternity. Imagine having a small town diner's eggs and bacon as your last meal. I wonder if he got the toast with it. Before the coffee was cold so was his body. Life is a vapor, but eternity never ends. Get God in your life and you'll enjoy his heaven, which is his ultimate divine will for your existence.