Passers-by

Am I just a passerby to you?
Are you just passing by my life?

It seems like funeral wakes are usually very emotional experiences. Having gone for 2 today. 

For me, it is more emotional because memories, however few they may be, begin to return to my consciousness. I begin to think back on the past, of times with the deceased. I begin to notice the loss, which also means that I begin to notice the presence of that person now gone. 

Strange isn't it? And today, I asked myself why is it that I only pause to think of people's significance in my life when they are gone, that I only begin to be aware of their presence when the presence is no more. Why not earlier? How different will I be if I had truly lived as the most cliche line goes - as if it was the last. To be with each person as if it was the last time we would get to spend time together. Sounds a little morbid. But... The dislikes I have towards their character traits will no longer be such a huge eye sore anymore if I knew that those moments would be the last. I would treasure a lot more those moments. I would see them in a totally different light. My heart would be disposed very differently. No time for anger or grudges. No time for petty arguments or finger-pointing. There's only time for love.

All too often, we take for granted that the people in our lives will be with us forever. Until reality hits hard. 

Have you experienced a family member having to move to somewhere else permanently? Knowing that the time you have left with this person is running out, what adjustments in your life would you make? For instance, returning home for dinner with her more often, asking her out for a meal and a good chat? 

Let's not wait for someone to move away, to pass away, before we begin to treasure the time we have with them. Let's not wait for absence to teach us to notice their presence. It can take us less than 5 minutes to pause at every mid day or some time everyday to just become aware of the people in our lives, the relationships God strung together... and to give thanks to God for these people, say a short prayer for them and bless them. I am certain that if we live this way, our relationships will transform and blossom. 

Whose presence in your life have you not been aware of for the longest time? 
How is God inviting you to pause and consider what these people truly mean to you?  

Do not just let them pass you by...
See... and look deeper. 
We are deeply connected.