Suffering With HopeНамуна

Questions that Come with Pain

The untiring siren call of the future—with its grand plans to be accomplished, vacations to be had, retirements to be enjoyed—can become so strong it swallows our ability to live in the now. This often means people fail to be fully present, to live in the moment. We neglect spouses and children, disregard care for our bodies, and dismiss relationships that naturally require time and attention as an impossible luxury. We fall into this trap all the more easily when we are not mindful of our weakness and mortality.

Ironically, the practice of meditation on death does not freeze us in resignation but reminds us of the life we have in Christ. You are alive, so be present with God and neighbor. Confess your limits and accept those of others; courageously move toward others that you might extend God’s love to them, and they to you. This is the moment you have been given; this is the life you have been called to live. Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has more than enough worry on its own (Matthew 6:34), and your anxiety cannot change the fact that we are not in control (Luke 12:22-34). Indeed, a proper appreciation of our mortality can clear our vision, enlightening us to the truly meaningful activities of this life.

When we are mindful of our mortality, we see the importance of keeping good relations with the Creator and with his creation. Then, if we die unexpectedly, we are never unprepared to meet our Creator nor disheartened that we left dear ones without properly loving them. Keep short records; be mindful of our humanity, of our finitude, of our fragility. This goes against the reassurance of our achievements in the West, which tells us that we can always be growing stronger, more productive, higher, better. When we are swept up in such “growth” we risk undermining our own humanity and devaluing the humanity of those around us, precisely because that philosophy is false and blinds us to reality. We can only be stretched so far before we break.

Our present is not simply an uneventful string of motions, but more like a sea that moves from beautiful calm to turbulent storm. In these various seasons of life we are called to exist in the present, not in denial of our mortality but mindful of it.

From Embodied Hope by Kelly M. Kapic.