Life is too short to waste it on grudges, anger, and arguing with those we love. We take for granted the people we love, especially our parents. We look up to our parents and we forget that someday they may be gone, especially when they are still healthy. The truth is everyone dies at some point, and we don’t know when. Make every moment you have with the people you care about precious.
When my dad was lying in the hospital bed with a vent in his mouth, all I wanted was to hear his voice again. I held his hand and talked to him; he shook his head and squeezed my hand. My mind went back to the times I argued with him over differences of opinions and how I hated to hear him talk about politics. None of that mattered any more. I would have done anything to hear him talk about politics and the stuff I didn’t agree on.
All my arguments with him seemed like I had wasted time. I had often gotten mad at him for lecturing me about eating habits, thinking he wasn’t happy with having an overweight daughter. Now those angry moments were suddenly pointless. He only lectured me because he cared. I realized even though I was an adult, my dad never stopped being a father. His lectures were out of love and not to hurt me. As he lay there fighting for his life, I would have done anything to hear a lecture about healthy eating. All I could hear was the machines hooked to him.
The nurses and doctors said there was a chance he could die. One doctor sat in the waiting room and explained my dad’s condition to my uncle, brother, my brother’s family, my husband, and me. She told us he was in renal failure when he first came to the hospital. She kept saying there’s a chance he won’t make it and a chance he will. I fought to hold in my tears. The thought of my dad dying scared me. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it, and I didn’t want to.
For all my life my dad has been a healthy, hardworking man. He never let anything slow him down, even when chemo made him tired. I felt like he was invincible, and nothing could stop him. Not even cancer. Then pneumonia in his left lung, with no immune system to fight it, sent him to the brink of death, and my whole world was spinning. All I could do was pray that he would live, and hold his hand and tell him to fight. I asked God each day to spare his life and give me more time with him. I suddenly saw that my dad wasn’t invincible, and he could die.
This whole experience showed me how short life is. It also showed me how important it is to hold my loved ones close and how meaningless it is to argue or get mad at them. Now that my dad’s home, I want to spend as much time with him and my mom as possible. I’m not going to let small things upset me. My dad can talk about politics, lecture me about my unhealthy eating, and disagree with me on things and I will no longer get upset. The small differences will no longer bug me, because God gave me more time with him, and I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to enjoy every minute I have with him and thank God daily for sparing his life.
We’re not promised to live forever, so while your loved ones are alive, hold them tight. Let go of your anger, your grudges, and your disagreements, and show them your love. If you’re not talking to someone you care about, make amends. Making amends will heal broken bonds and your soul. Don’t rush life; slow down and enjoy the people in your life. Make time for those you have been too busy for. Give your loved ones all the love you can, and keep them close to your heart.
God gave my dad a second chance at life and me a chance to enjoy having my dad around longer. Because of God’s work, I stand in the light, holding my loved ones closer to my heart.
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