20 days since life forever changed.
20 days since one phrase has not stopped echoing in my soul,

life is but a breath.

life fleeting like a shadow.

This life. a mere breath.
A gift I take for granted.

Life of others around me I expect to see forever.

20 days I wake, I say, this life, a quick breath.
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. (psalms 144:4)

How in 28 years did I miss this heart beat of my Creator?

This life we have, quickly comes and quickly goes.

20 days I have asked, am I faithful with my breath?
20 days I come before the King and cry,

Teach me to realize the brevity of life, so that I may grow in wisdom. (ps 90:12)

Under the weight of this fleeting breath I find my eyes look past this suffering world.
When my heart grasps this breath of life, I have an eternal perspective–my heart clings to hope beyond this temporary life.

We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Cor. 4:18b)

This week, I sit with my hairdresser and she shares her tragic lost. Just three days after mine.
And in my soul I utter, this life, this life is but a breath.
30 year old young father, quickly taken, a family in shambles.
Oh this life, a blessed gift that was instantly taken.

I pray, Oh Father, Teach me to realize the brevity of life, so that I may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

My heart aching from tragedy that swirls like a storm around my heart.

I turn the news on, a plane vanished. Lives missing. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, gone.
Heartbreak fills the world.
I close my eyes, I cry, I utter quietly,
this life, but a breath.

20 days have ever changed me.
20 days ago I witnessed the reality of our fleeting breath.
And I ask God, help me to never forget– My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. (psalm 39:5)

I inhale.
Exhale.
This Breath, just temporary.
Each inhale, a gift.
Slowly I exhale–I praise him for the days of my life numbered in His book.

And with this breath, this gift of life, I remember, life on earth I see is not the end.

Jesus wrote a greater story when he defeated death.
I lift my eyes up and thank Him for the eternity of breath that awaits his beloved children.
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (hebrews 12:14)

I hold these words close to my soul, for I have experienced,
This life, but a breath.

A passing shadow.

Photo taken by: Susan Hasenkamp