Kisses and Prayers

They hung on for dear life.
There at the terminal, despite the announcement that the plane was boarding.
They didn’t want to leave each other.
They didn’t know if this was the last time they would ever see each other again.

To watch them was to intrude.
This was their private moment.
This was their good bye.
For some who will not utter those words at that moment, this was, See you later.

Their kiss was tender.
It was not the passion as much as it was the sweetness.
It was all of their memories encapsulated into that moment.
It was time frozen; a memory to hold onto when distance separated them.

It was a kiss that blurred the world around them.
It was a tender touch to the cheek that said, You are the only one I see.
It was a look into each other’s eyes that was determined to burn this image into their heart.
It was raw, simple, and sincere love.

Love that feared it would be lost.

To see them in the hallway was a precious sight.
He, with his hand placed gently on the small of her back.
She, with the wires connected to things that would sustain her.
He, the protector, afraid that one wrong move would break her in half.

She seemed so fragile as she shuffled along.
How gently he talked to her.
How carefully she listened as she slid one foot awkwardly before the other.
Her wedding ring was dangling around her knuckle; her fingers were so thin.

He walked her back to her room, which was only a few feet away.
It could have been a mile for the energy it took to get there.
He settled her into her bed.
He sat with her; looking at the woman he loves, who is still there beneath the wires.

He prayed.
He talked to His Heavenly Father.
His lips moving silently for His ears only.
A single tear trickled down the side of his face.

He leaned over and put his head in his hands.
Mountains moved.
Heaven shook with the fervent prayers of this righteous man.
A dialogue took place between Father and child.

Fervency.
Urgency.
A kiss as if it was the last.
A prayer that pounded on the gates of heaven.

How do this kiss and that prayer differ from ordinary kisses and prayers?
Loss.
The kiss and the prayer could very well have been the last.

Why do we wait until loss is imminent to get serious about our relationships?
Why do we not love through action and love through prayer with urgency everyday?
What is God teaching us in those moments?
Why do we assume that we have all the time in the world?

And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

Urgency.
This man thought he had all the time in the world.
What if he had known his life would be taken that night?
How very different his kisses and his prayers would have been.

None of us know the time we have on this earth.
None of us know when the number of our days has come to an end.
Why don’t we love those God has placed in our life like it is our last day?
Why don’t we pray to the Father as if our life depended on it?

It does.

I read something earlier today that made me pause.
Airports see more sincere kisses than wedding halls.
The walls of hospitals have heard more prayers than the walls of churches.

May this not be true of our lives.
Goodbyes and loss should not be the impetus for sincere love and sincere prayers.
All any of us have is today.

We have today; to love God well through loving others well.
We have today, to pray fervently, no matter the circumstances.

Love and prayers fueled not by loss but by God.
Seeing each moment as a gift to cherish.
Only God knows the number of our days.
Let’s make the number of our days count by loving well and praying much.