I spent several days of the last week cleaning out my office and getting it organized. I hold onto things by nature, and every so often I have to go through and let it all go. In the midst of the piles of books, sermons, papers, and more, one thing stood out to me.
I picked up a notebook that I regularly used to preach funerals, and it was full of funeral bulletins. They often have the deceased picture on the front, with the obituary full of family names, careers, hobbies, achievements, and more. Some of these funerals I remembered well, as they were close family or church members. Others were people I had never met before but had the privilege of leading their family in a hard time. It's now been years or even decades since some of those funerals, but time keeps marching on.
As we come to the close of the year and start of a new one it made me think that no one entered January of their last year thinking it would be their final one. They all had plans, dreams, and things they've been intending to get to. That pile of funeral bulletins no doubt reflects a lot of things left unsaid and regrets, as well as achievements and accomplishments. We never know how much time we have left.
Anyone reading this has no doubt had ups and downs over the past year, and probably experienced a loss of a loved one that they didn't see coming. Many of those who started the year with us did not finish it, but by God's grace we will hopefully see them again someday. The end of the year is a reminder that all things come to an end, no matter how good or bad they are. By God's grace the sun will keep rising and we will see a new year arrive soon. We don't know what it will hold, there will no doubt be joy and sorrow for each of us. But we can also know that each time the sun comes up it represents new mercies of God. Let's hold onto them with everything we've got.