Have you ever watched the second hand on the clock?  It just keeps on going, a little at a time.  It doesn’t stop.  It doesn’t care how much we wish a moment would last forever or how at the end of a work day we wish it would tick a little faster.   Like a good little soldier…time keeps marching on.

Our lifes are made up of moments in time, the things we do with each tick, every second of every day.  

My resolution for the new year is to make the most of each moment that I have left.   With every year I hope it will be better than the last.  As I get older, I also realize that I’m not sure how much life I have left to live.  

I was given one of the most profound gifts I have ever received in my life this last year.  I was taught that life is more than the things we have, rather it is about the things we do, the people we touch, and the memories we make. 

Hester Purefinder is a character created by my late Aunt, Colleen Gilbert.  An 18th Century Reenactor, a beggar woman with a heart of gold.   She was a prankster and jester, soiled with dirt from head to toe - people would look for her with anticipation at an event.   

In July, my Aunt passed away from a brain aneurysm at the young age of 53.  It was unexpected and probably unpredictable.   What wasn’t expected was the outpouring of love and admiration from people with whom she had made an impact on their lives.   The love people have for her is unexplainable.  She will be remembered always.

Her passing also made an impact on our family.  First, we never knew how little she had.  Having no children of her own, her immediate family was me, my brothers, my parents and my grandmother.   We were tasked with finalizing her “estate” which included a single wide trailer and everything in it.  Never do I want my family to have to sort through my material things.  It felt as much as an invasion as it did a chore. 

Second, she taught us that love survives death.  She kept relatively quiet to our family.  She shared the fun she had at reenactments and the amazing people she would meet.   We had no idea how touched others were by her presence.   She died on a day when she was meant to be going on a road trip with a few of her friends to the next event.   Word spread quickly that something was wrong.   And just as quickly, a message board filled up with worry, prayers, stories, and tears. 

She didn’t know when she was going to die.  Not many of us are given that opportunity, but by grace, her life meant something to many people who now carry her spirit with them wherever they go.  

As time keeps moving, the clock is still ticking on the wall, I pray that I can live up to a fraction of what my aunt did.   I pray that I can have an impact on people, to change their life for the better, to be loved and love others, and to be remembered for the joy I brought to their life.