Live Wisely for the Days are Short

People are laughing at the jokes. This guy is really funny—can’t believe he did that! And wow, can he draw a crowd. The room is packed with folks who came just for him. Even his family is awed by all the friends and colleagues who made the trip out. The stories fly through the room, from silly to poignant, goofy to meaningful.

Underneath the chatter, everyone wishes this man didn’t have to miss his own party—his funeral. His widow and children weep through their laughter, celebrating the life of a husband/father/friend/uncle/grandfather who is now gone from their presence. They miss him already. Knowing he’s with the Lord helps in the long run, but for now it’s just hard not seeing his smiling face among the crowd.

I lived this scene earlier this week. Uncle Gus—my husband’s uncle—packed the house for more than four hours, the line of mourners stretching out the door for most of the allotted time. During the funeral the next day, his sons eulogized him, keeping us in stitches most of the time as they told stories on their dad. At one point my son turned to me and asked if I was crying from my laughter or because I was sad. All I could say was, “Yes.”

As we drove the 45-minute procession to the cemetery, my husband and I reflected on our future funerals. What would people say about us? Would it be a celebration like this one? Will our children testify of our love for them and God? And what could we do now to ensure that kind of send-off?

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 says that it’s better to go to a house of mourning (a funeral) than to a house of feasting (perhaps a wedding?). Better is the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth. Knowing that our end is inevitable gives us reason to reflect on the life we have left. Are we making the most of our days?

Funerals can help us apply the truth of Psalm 90:10, 12:

“The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly  and we fly away…teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.”

Are you living wisely?