Prodigal: Give me ten more minutes and I will be right there when I finish this up.

Me: Speaking of time, that is what I am going to talk about.

This is from the book Seven Seasons of the Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley

In June 1994, my best friend for eighteen years Tom Skinner, died suddenly of acute leukemia. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him.

After his death, those friends who knew we were close would express some form of condolence. What is particularly interesting to me is that the average length of those condolences was about ten seconds. Then the subject would change, and in most cases, that’s the last time his name was ever mentioned.

Tom was a man who always had people trying to get a piece of his time. I’m talking about hundreds of people. Let’s be honest. Most people who ask you for time don’t really care that much about you personally. I’m not blaming them. I’m simply pointing out that for most people in your life, you are good for about ten seconds of respect, and then life must go on. Only a handful of people will even attend your funeral, much less shed a tear.

Why? Because we’re on the run. When someone wants to set you to running, ask yourself, “Is this person really going to miss me when I’m gone?”

2 Corinthians 7:10

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org