Many of us remember the hit TV show “Friends.”  It not only had incredible ratings when it was first aired, but 20 years after its finale, one can still find it on some channel every day.  It was and is a cultural phenomenon.

Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) died recently at the young age of 54.  I say “young” because that is how old I am, and I definitely am not old – ha-ha.  It was a surprise and garnered many emotions.  Did you know about it?

Many people felt like they knew Matthew, so his death seemed like the loss of a “real” friend.  However, we see that a lot – don’t we?  Celebrities die.  Politicians die.  People that we have never met but have watched from afar die, and we feel the loss.

But what about those who are physically in your life?

Life is short.  Life is chaotic.  Life takes unexpected turns.  Psalm 39:4 reminds us of this by stating: “Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am.”  Also, Psalm 90:12 states: “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”

With each passing year, we recognize how quickly life moves ahead.  Christmas is almost here, but I feel like I just put the Christmas decorations up a few weeks ago.  My adult son and teenage daughter were toddlers a few months ago (in my mind).

And what about those “real” friends we have?  It is easy to think that we will get together in a few weeks even though it rarely happens.  It is easy to think that we will catch up on the phone in a few days even though life throws something else at us that causes us to put it off – again.  How are you helping, enjoying, and investing in those friendships?

And what about the most important relationship in life?  What about your relationship with God?  It is easy to think that we will get things right with Him when life calms down – though it never does.  It is easy to think that we will get more involved in things that please Him when we have more time – though time seems to be moving faster and faster.

Perhaps it is time for us to stop letting life dictate OUR lives.  Perhaps it is time for us to begin doing and being what we should do and be.  Perhaps it is time to allow a wakeup call to actually wake us up.

Let us enjoy life the way God intended.