The Last Sunset


This picture of a bench was probably the last normal evening in our lives. 

It was a time when the world - our world - was as it should be. Our parents were with us. They were not in a hospital or somewhere far but at home. They were with us as they ought to be.

We had gone to Busaiteen along with Sam because it was a lovely evening and we just wanted to go out and be close to the sea.  Little did we know that the very next day my mother would be taken to the hospital and she'd remain there for the next 41 days, and then to her eternal home above.

And yet that evening in Busaiteen, we had no idea of how our world was going to change in a space of just 24 hours. 

I wonder what we would have done at that time if we had known that our lives would no longer be the same - would we have skipped the drive to Busaiteen and just spent time with my mother and family? 

Now we did make a visit to my parents after Busaiteen and saw that my mother was in pain and in need of medical treatment. It was decided to take her to the hospital the very next day, and we learned then that it was the right decision.

At that time we just thought a hospital visit would reduce her pain but never imagined that we would soon find out that she was critical.

It is  six years since that particular day, and much has changed since then. Four months after my mother's passing my father followed her, too, and then there was the Covid lockdown that brought about far reaching changes in the next two-three years. In the wider socio-political world, there were changes that would have interested my father and I’d imagine what his opinion would be about all that’s happening in the news cycle.

As I look back at the bench I begin to wonder about moments that seem ordinary at first, but are a precursor to something huge - and unexpected.

I know it’s a bit cheesy to say this, and maybe sounds more like a cliche but sometimes there’s truth in treasuring every moment as if it’s our last. Not in a fatalistic manner but with a sense of joy, hope and gratitude.

Moments come and go with the passage of time but to sense the extraordinary even in the mundane can sometimes unlock that sense of awe. We may never know how long people will be with us but to treat every encounter as a meaningful experience can help enrich our memories.

Sometimes it is about being intentional and purposeful about what we do, but most often it is about treasuring the time we have.

For us that last sunset gave hope to the promised sunrise in the Kingdom to come.

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