What if you knew how much more time you have...

I had had the opportunity of looking at a picture she had taken a year or so ago; bright wide smile, the image of vibrancy: joie de vivre. But now here I was, standing in front of the same but different person. Frail… thin… sunken spotted skin… weak… somber. This couldn’t possibly be the same girl…

We had a brief chat. I left humbled.

Diana (not real name) was diagnosed with liver cancer, last year in April. Discovered too late, there is not so much the doctors could do but offer drugs to keep her going a while longer. Diana had been doing a course in hairdressing but her dreams in that line are now quite foggy. However, she had this to say, “From this I have learnt not to take life for granted, I have learnt how important it is to count my blessings and I have grown closer to God.”

Diana, full of faith and hope believes that this will go away, that God will heal her. She is confident that she is going to live to be a missionary, to testify of the amazing love of God, to share her testimony and give hope to the many out there going through similar situations. Speaking of the future she says, “I see total healing from God. One day I will testify of the Lord’s goodness and touch many people’s lives. I see myself helping children.”

Diana is confident now more than ever that God truly loves people. She is grateful for the gift of salvation. “I wouldn’t have learnt what I have learnt and I wouldn’t have known God,” she says.

When you look at Diana, believe me it is difficult to understand how she can speak that way, believe so much and have hope that big.  Isn’t the power of the gift of Salvation amazing?

If I didn’t believe in God like she does, I’d probably side with the doctor’s report, coz she honestly doesn’t look too good.

It’s amazing that a person, who ideally has a rough idea of how long she has left on earth, has bigger dreams, stronger faith and full hope that she will achieve them…

How many alive and kicking people are out there living by the minimum?

How many people are out there saying I’ll get this done tomorrow, when tomorrow may never come?

How many people are out there too afraid to seize the dream when someone else would do anything to take the opportunity?

How many are out there have not come close to Diana’s experience but can’t trust God enough?

How many of us are living in a way that would make people like Diana say, “Well I would gladly swap lives with you.”

I left embarrassed at the way I at times go lazily about life, my life… unmindful of the fact that it could just be gone in a flash, leave alone standing before the Most High to give an account of how well I used my time…

What if you knew how much more time you had to live, what would you do differently? Why not do it now?