The Unclaimed Gift: Twenty Five Minutes

“A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.” Ecclesiastes 7:1

Twenty Five Minutes

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I sat today in sadness. It took twenty five minutes from beginning to end. Twenty five minutes to share in the journey home. Twenty five minutes to grieve with them. Twenty five minutes to ponder his sacrifice. Twenty five minutes to know that there are things in this life that are out of our control.

When you had to wait on the tarmac of the airport in your airplane, complaining because your flight was delayed, did you know a hero passed in front of you? When you had to stop on the interstate, whining about traffic keeping you from your destination, did you know a hero passed in front of you? When you couldn’t get out of the parking lot of the outlet mall after a morning of shopping and complained about the inconvenience, did you know a hero passed in front of you?

In the house on the corner, a woman sits inside, deep in her grief, mired in her heartache. Every room is a memory, every step on the stairs a place to see his smile. The view through the window is the yard where he played, the garage holds the car he so proudly bought with his first paycheck. The Christmas tree stands in the corner, its glow dimmed by knowing that the gifts underneath will never be opened. The box to send sits on the table, its contents a view into the things he loved to snack on.

I only had to share twenty five minutes of her grief. I will get up from my computer and go about my day, sad and fearful, worried and relieved, ashamed that I did, for the briefest of moments, thank God that it wasn’t my turn. It seems so unfair that her son, at only twenty two, was called Home for reasons that are still unclear. I am reminded of King David who cried to the Lord “The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears…..If only I had died instead of you.” 2 Samuel 18:33 The words of a grieving parent are the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Why not me Lord? Why them?

In our hurry up, frantic pace of today’s daily life, do we have twenty five minutes to give this hero? Will you stop watching your favorite sitcom, stop playing your computer game, stop updating your status to things no one really cares about and give honor to a mother’s son? In twenty six minutes your life will go back to normal. In twenty six years, her life will still not be the same. Draw your loved ones close, dear friends, and share with them the truth about why they are free. Give honor to the real heroes of this life. A mother’s son, a father’s friend, a defender of the life we hold so dear. He never had a million dollar salary, he never threw a super bowl winning pass, he never sold out a movie theatre. Yet who do you think will be told upon his arrival into God’s presence “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of your Lord.”? Matthew 25:21

@copyright 2012 Michelle Welch, The Unclaimed Gift
KJV and NLT versions of the Bible used
pictures from Scott J. Engle - Photo/journalist-conroe Scott J. Engle website