Saturday, September 29, 2018

Tomorrow Is Never Promised

A lot has been going through my mind lately as a lot of my family members are suffering through a tragedy. One of my distant cousins, Zack, was accidentally shot and killed by target shooters while they were in the mountains taking pictures to send to his brother on a mission. They were just riding along in their jeep when a bullet came through the window and killed this innocent young man. I will spare you the gory details, but needless to say it was a traumatic event for all involved. When I heard the story in detail I was traumatized and basically had a panic attack. I could not get the image out of my head and it was horrifying. No one should have to experience that. I can't even imagine how much his parents, siblings, and grandparents are hurting. I wasn't close to him and somehow his passing has had a great effect on even me. I look up to his immediate family for being so strong because I honestly don't know how you come back from something like this. How do you go on living when someone that close to you is so suddenly gone?

The very next day at the clinic I work at we were working hard and running tests of every kind on a very sick 3 year old. When the doctor I was working for realized that what this girl has may be out of his scope of practice, and more that what could be handled in a clinic setting, he immediately sent them to the Emergency Room at a children's hospital. Sure enough, that little girl was diagnosed with Leukemia. Those parent's didn't realize the extent of their little girls illness. I'm sure they just came to the clinic to get some help. I doubt they thought they would be sent to the ER or have to stay in a hospital that night. They didn't realize how fast and drastically their life can change and the extent of treatment their baby would need. My heart breaks for that little family as they face a whole new set of challenges.

Why does it take some big drastic even for us to take a minute and appreciate life? Life flies by and no one realizes that in an instant life can change. Life is a fragile thing and it can be taken in the blink of an eye. You're whole world can change in a matter of seconds. Isn't that a scary thought? Today at the funeral of a fun loving 14 year old boy I changed the way I look at things. I learned how important it is to hold your family tight. To always say "I love you." To take an abundance of pictures, you will never get to relive the little moments in your life and you need to document them. You never know when those pictures will be the best reminder of the memories you had with someone. Prepare yourself. Live every day as if it is your last because it very well could be. Tomorrow is never promised. If you feel like you need to do something do it. Act on those little promptings. Call up your friend, write that letter, spend time with your grandparents. Time is so precious. Love your family. Go to family reunions and other family functions without complaining. Just go, it's not that hard. Don't take people for granted because you never know when they could be taken from you.

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