My sweetheart and I have been together as man and wife for over 61 years, and we both know that our time on earth is drawing near the end. We must know unconsciously, as well, because we tend to say more often, “I love you” and we hug a little longer after prayer each night. We have gone through that with our six children, as they grew up and left home to make their own families, there were many last times, especially for Momma. I thought this poem from “Glen’s Story Corner” was such an appropriate title:
The Last Time
“From the moment you hold your baby in your arms, you will never be the same. You might long for the person you were before, when you had freedom and time and nothing in particular to worry about. You will know tiredness like you never knew it before, And days will run into days that are exactly the same, Full of feedings and burping, Nappy changes and crying, Whining and fighting, Naps or a lack of naps, It might seem like a never-ending cycle. But don’t forget …There is a last time for everything. There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time.They will fall asleep on you after a long day And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child. One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down, And never pick them up that way again. You will scrub their hair in the bath one night And from that day on they will want to bathe alone. They will hold your hand to cross the road, Then never reach for it again. They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles, And it will be the last night you ever wake to this. One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus” and do all the actions, then never sing them that song again. They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate, The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone. You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face. They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time. The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time Until there are no more times. And even then, it will take you a while to realize. So while you are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them. For one last time. “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” (Psalms 127:3)
We were at a viewing not too long ago where a friend’s wife and companion had passed away. He was looking at her face for the last time in this life. It was ‘one last time.’ I have often thought how terrible that feeling must be for those who have no understanding of Eternal life and the immortal nature of man, no faith in a loving Heavenly Father who promised the faithful that they would be together as man and wife, with their family forever. To a mortal it may seem far fetched until you truly contemplate God and His total and supreme control and power in the universe. Look what He has done, what He sustains every moment of every day. Nothing in the universe is chaos, only order and He is in control. In control by the word of His power who is none other than His son, Jesus Christ. We can count on Him. Why? Because He has already made that ultimate sacrifice in our behalf, as He said hanging on the cross and breathed his last as a mortal man, “It is finished.” He has satisfied justice and has cleared the way for us to return to our Heavenly Father. The ‘one last time’ is a phrase appropriate for earth only. Mortality and most everything in this life we call mortality has an end but immortality will have a new language for us. I don’t believe there is an action that leads to an end while in an immortal existence. Think about it.