Fifteen more winters, if I'm lucky.

I love winter. Today I worked in my yard, 33 degrees, overcast, no wind. It was great.

I figure I've got maybe 15 more winters to enjoy, if I'm lucky. That's what I was thinking about.

One Saturday morning, I turned the dial on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap meet. Along the way, I came across an older-sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. He sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business, I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.

"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something, Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities. You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in detail," he went on, "and by that time, realized that if I lived to be seventy-five, only had about a thousand Saturdays left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores before I rounded up one thousand marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large clear, plastic container right here next to my gear. Every Saturday, since then, I have taken one marble and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday, then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can use is a little more time."

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna this morning, and then I was going to meet with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “Come on, honey, I'm taking you and the kids breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked. Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Key, can we stop by a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

It's cold and misty here today...my favorite weather.

According to the law of averages, I have about 4 or 5 more Christmases.

My mother died this past July...she had 93 Christmases in December and one in July ... loved every one. She had dementia and one year started wearing her Christmas clothes in May...I gave in and had a "Christmas in July" party. We have about a dozen sets of what we thought would be her "Last Christmas" pictures.

I had planned to have a "Pity Party" today... remembering Christmases past. It didn't work out that way because I couldn't get past how blessed I've been in life and how lucky I was with the parents I was given...settled for being thankful.

After this year, I believe I don’t need the marbles so much.

Just over a year ago, and only a couple of months after our 25th anniversary, my wife was diagnosed at age 48 with an uncommon form of breast cancer known as Inflammatory Breast Cancer (you can look it up; the survival rates aren’t a basis for optimism). I suspect that the oncologist wasn’t sure that she would make it to Christmas this year. But our God had other plans...after chemo, surgery, radiation, and more surgery, there are no more signs of the cancer! Yay!

But a friend of roughly the same age, who should have had another 25 marbles in the jar, having battled breast cancer for a couple of years, just suddenly went into the hospital and died, leaving behind a husband and children. As far as we know, the cause of her death was not the cancer. The only good news in this situation is that we heard that she received Christ shortly before she died.

Another friend of mine is that “average” age, 75. It appears that his “marbles” have run out. He had surgery and chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, but it seems that the cancer is prevailing. He can no longer eat, and they have sent him home now. I visited him yesterday. He and his family are not despairing; they are very aware of the living hope that they have in the ever-living Christ, but it is hard for them to face the impending loss of a husband and father. Even I, who have known him only as a friend, am grieving, despite the fact that I know I will see him again.

My own father has been on “extra time” for some years now. Somewhere about age 72 he was diagnosed with RARS (refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts—you can look that one up as well) and given five years to live. “But,” the doctor consoled him, “you’re more likely to die of something else by then.” Now he is 87 years old, having stretched out the prognosis by a factor of three. The RARS is slowly winning. His blood oxygen levels have been gradually declining for these fifteen years. He is still lucid, but hardly ever leaves the house anymore. We don’t expect him to still be here next Christmas. He also knows that his life is hid with Christ in God, but my mother is facing the loss of her companion, her husband for sixty years.

Anyway, to all the Freepers who read this, I want to say: that jar can be deceptive. The jar might still have marbles left, but 75 years is only an average. Some people are given more, but many are given less. God already knows the number of your days. Make sure you have been made right with Him. Be certain you have made things right, as best you can, with everyone you have wronged. Tell your spouse, your children that you love them. Show them how much you love them. Make sure you have forgiven everyone who has wronged you in any way. Enjoy the good things of this life, but keep your mind fixed on the things above.

Merry Christmas to all.

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