Reality is a tough one at times

We've just finished the joy and rush of the holiday season and have launched ourselves in the new year. For many, this includes resolutions or "re-tooling" as I am apt to do. Yet, reality then hits you and you realize that all we have is the now and what matters is what we do with the moments we're given.

When you live in Alaska, the wife of a pilot, you know that you're in a high risk business. You live with that everyday. I'm blessed to have a husband who does not appear bent on pushing his limits. When he thought about flying this past Saturday, he decided against it. It wasn't really horible weather, but the winds were occasionally there and it was only 16 degrees. He figured there was nothing that earth shatteing that he had to fly for. As it turned out, it was good he did not fly as he was needed in the other aspect of his trooper life. If he had been in the air, he would not have known there was another pilot who needed help, or known his wife was at home desperately needing to hear he was okay.

There was a plane crash of a small Piper, carrying 10 people, where only 4 survived. My husband spent his Saturday fishing dead bodies out of airplanes and getting them to shore. Although the passengers were not from Kodiak, the pilot was. It's a small community here and the loss has hit us all very hard. After 20 years of being married to a pilot, going to twice as many funerals than weddings over those years, you'd think I'd get used to it. I've learned that's not true.

So, what have I learned?

1. Cherish the time you have with your loved ones ~ we never know when it's going to be gone.

2. Don't let silly arguments or misunderstandings keep you from experiencing peace in your relationships.

3. Always remember: God is good and knows what He's doing~even if right now it doesn't seem like it.

Compared to losing a spouse, how do the irritations of your life stack up? Yeah, I thought so. About as high as mine. I need to remember to put things in perspective. I had to be reminded of this the hard way, I'm hoping you don't.