Life is short.  Those of us in our third trimester know this well.  We’ve seen a lot of life, but for some silly reason, aging still takes us by surprise.  Many say they feel younger on the inside than their years belie. I, for one, feel my age nearly every day in one way or another.  It just is.

For the past month, Flyboy has mentioned (he never complains) worsening chest pains associated with exertion, which he has attributed to acid reflux, but today it really got his attention.  We mow two acres, mostly on the rider, but we have a fair amount of trim work to do with the push mower. Flyboy had to stop three times to wait for his chest pain to subside.  When he came inside, he reported it was the worst ever.

I’m growing more and more aware of the passing of time and the fact that our days are numbered.  And I’m so very thankful that we are committed to following our dream of seeing some new parts of the country with our travel trailer. We spent three days at a state park with three other families this past week and had the best time. Our friend Eli shared a discipleship template with the whole group, we hiked to see waterfalls and catch crawfish, we shared meals together, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

The doctor in the ER says that a stress test is not necessary in this case – Flyboy already failed his own self-administered stress test earlier today when he was mowing the lawn and had chest pain. Because other health issues put him at high risk, they are going straight to a heart catheterization. He’s being admitted.

We are planning our next big adventure – an extended camping trip to Texas, where our love story began.  Flyboy and I met on a blind date, when he really was a flyboy, and rushed headlong into young love.  We’ve lived a lot of life and loved more deeply than we knew possible. We’ve worked hard, been responsible. We’re ready to play for awhile.

Here we go again. I wonder how many days have been spent in the hospital through the years? Flyboy is thoroughly disgusted, so much so that he’d like to forget the whole thing and just go home. I can’t blame him. But he soldiered on, enduring the uncomfortable procedure, and came out with a stent in his blocked artery, and the news that 1) there are two more blockages (not bad enough to stent) and 2) he’s had a heart attack sometime in the past.

Besides making check marks on our bucket list, we are also more aware of the passage of time as it relates to the gospel.  We are halfway through a class called “Crucial Conversations” named after a book of the same name by Dan Grider. We are being challenged to make the most of every opportunity to engage in spiritual conversations with people we meet.  We are learning how to listen and ask thoughtful, caring questions that naturally lead to our need for a Savior.

Flyboy is home now, and despite sporting the biggest and nastiest looking bruises I’ve ever seen, he is doing well.  The past week reminds us both that we are all just a moment away from eternity and whether it’s a heart attack or cancer or being hit by a bus, it is in God’s hands. 

Life is short. And it felt a lot shorter this week. We are so thankful that we have some more time together, and we are excited to spend it well.

Love,
Gigi

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. –2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)