He was gone, but his watch kept ticking.

We’ve had a lot of deaths in our family in the past 4 years. Too many. It’s been hard.

My precious mother-in-law passed away 4 years ago after a long struggle with Parkinson’s. I miss her terribly. She was like a mother to me. She taught me so many skills for life.

My brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly two years ago. I’m so glad my mother-in-law went first. She would have been devastated by her son’s death. It was so sad.

My dad passed away 2 ½ years ago. He was surrounded by family. He had been diagnosed with Leukemia and given two weeks to live. We eventually called in Hospice. It was one of the most difficult times of my life. My siblings, my kids, and others came to visit with Dad prior to his departure to heaven.

The day he passed, I knew he was in heaven rejoicing, but I felt I had lost my knight in shining armor. Gosh, I loved that man. He was so precious to me.

About a week after his death, the funeral home brought his clothes & watch to me. As I held his watch in my hand, I sobbed. It was still ticking.

I said out loud, “Time just kept ticking Dad”.

I decided to put several special items that belonged to my dad in a memory box, including the watch.

Every time I opened that box to look at his belongings, the watch was still ticking. Even a year later. I would again say out loud through tears, “Time just kept ticking Dad”.

  

This past December, my father-in-law passed away. He lived alone about 2 blocks from us. My husband could not reach him by phone one morning and went by to check on him. Sadly, he found him dead on the kitchen floor. He had taken his meds that morning and fixed his coffee, but apparently had a heart attack or stroke. It was heartbreaking.

After calling 911, my husband called me, and I rushed over. How many deaths can a person endure so close together? Our hearts were crushed.

After the rescue squad left with my father-in-law’s body, my husband and I sat in the living room shaking our heads in disbelief and talking about what might have happened that morning in that house to Dad.

The kitchen clock was louder than I ever remember. Tick…tick…tick…tick. I wish I could have turned it off somehow. I was reminded again that my father-in-law had gone on to heaven, but time kept ticking. So loudly.

As I’ve reflected on the watch and on the clock, I realize that we sometimes think we have plenty of time left. Time to get right with God. Time to forgive a person who hurt us. Time to visit a relative. Time to tell someone we love them. Time to bring to fruition that idea we are so passionate about. Time to do those things we most value but keep putting them off until later. Time to start taking care of the body we've been given.

One day, time will keep ticking for others, but we will be gone. We will be passing the baton to the next person to carry on.

TIME is precious.

It is a gift from God.

It comes to an end here on earth for each of us.

What are you putting off until later? Are you doing those things you value? Or have you been distracted by the busyness of this life? Are you impacting others? Or are you self-absorbed?

Listen.....the clock is still ticking.