My Last 24 Hours Wouldn’t Accomplish Greatness
The writer in me would like to believe that, had I only 24 hours left to live, I would use those hours to leave behind a message to the world, something daring and profound. Or, at the very least, something worth reading, a funny anecdote about the time I only had 24 hours left to live.
In truth, I would spend the time with my family, especially my twin sister. If I wrote anything down at all, it would be to list out who each cat would go to (there are seven of them). Maybe I’d specify who got my jackalope head and my suit of armor as well. My friends and family could fight over the rest of it.
Maybe I’d write some letters. And I’d make one last funny Facebook post.
I wouldn’t want to travel on my last day. I’d want coffee, food, and conversation. I would want to see both the sunrise and the sunset. I’d make some phone calls. Mostly, I would say goodbye.
In June of 2019, my 36-year-old nephew David died suddenly of cancer, which is not how cancer is supposed to work. With cancer, a person is supposed to have time — more than 24 hours — to say goodbye. He didn’t get that chance. Although he had been sick for a couple of months, he had no idea how serious it was. At first, he thought it was allergies. As it progressed, he suspected a respiratory infection, then finally pneumonia. No one suspected leukemia until the day before he died — and the official diagnosis wasn’t made until his autopsy.
If he had known, he would have spent his last day differently. He would surely have wanted to spend those final hours with his children, his one-year-old daughter, his wife. Instead, he spent it in a hospital. None of us got to say goodbye. We didn’t even know how hard we needed to be praying until it was too late for prayers.
If I had 24 hours left to live, I would be grateful for the warning. But, the truth is, none of us get to set a timer to count down our final hours. That’s why it matters so much what we do with each day we are given, as cliché as that sounds. Our days are finite in number; we would do well to remember that.
Here’s another take on having 24 hours left to live. Check it out!
