Death has always come easy to me and I suspect several reasons that is true.
I didn’t have this perspective in the beginning of my young life but while this all may seem strange to a great many, as I grew I viewed life as no more than a transition period, a stepping off place; a place where we learn to be closer to God.
When I was young, I took life, at the request of my government, from others. My prayer for them was that my aim was true and that the end would be without pain. Believe me when I tell you, I said a lot of prayers when I was young. None for myself though, I always considered that much too selfish.
Once someone said to me that every day, every moment we have isn’t forever, and when it’s gone, we can’t get it back. I used to think that God, in his almighty mercy would allow all us to take all of that with us. I had prayed that He would allow us the opportunity to revisit those memories and grant us the power to correct our errors. That was foolish thinking from a young boy.
Death may come for us tomorrow, unexpected for some, prayed for by others that feel they have endured enough and therefore deserve peace, but death will come to us all. So why be afraid. There is really nothing to fear. Yet I have found so many, including myself at times, live in the constant fear of what is happening, what might come, and what might have been.
Death, of course, brings the ultimate loss for those left behind. I have witnessed it over and over again. The loss of a lifetime of memories to come. The loss of companionship. The loss of the familiar sounds and smells that we all know. It brings the loss of tradition, hard as we try to maintain it. It means the loss of ourselves in so many ways.
For those that do not believe, Death is it. It is the game changer, the end game. They may pretend it won’t affect them, but it will. Death does not discriminate, so you may lead a healthy, good and clean life and Death will get you anyway. It is unfair. It is cruel. I have seen young men to curl up in a ball in their sleeping bag knowing that fear of Death.
I can remember the fear of what might happen if I didn’t finish school, if I were a father, if I had to move, because to the circumstances around me or one more day in the bush. But once Death said to me, ‘this is nothing,’ I knew that I was being silly.
Death will tell you things if you only listen. It tells you to go on, live while you can. Experience it all; the good and the bad. Learn to comfort yourself through God and do not look to others, for the chances are you will die alone only with Him, so be prepared.
But accepting that you are going to one day die frees you in a way that allows you to really, finally live. When you accept the primise that God has something else in store for you, then life’s little or big changes can be tolerated with less of an impact.
Good Day and God Bless
