Natural Causes

Dying of natural causes puts life in a different perspective. It’s nobody’s fault, it’s not life cut short, it’s not some tragic accident, just a life that has run its course. The cicada I ran past today was dying of natural causes; spinning around in sputtering circles on its back. I wonder why bugs die on their backs.

Anyway, seeing the insect die got me thinking about life and death. A quote came into my mind, something about “We are all dying slowly every day.” I’m sure you have heard that line of thinking. I suppose, in a way, it is true. We are finite, every day brings us closer to the end of our life.

Well, anyway, today it seemed to me that the opposite is true, that every day we are becoming more alive. This life is only the first stage in our life cycle, this body only a cocoon. This life can be amazing at times, but we, like caterpillars have to crawl around in the dirt and inch our way through life. But in the next we’ll fly like butterflies.

And, if we can believe the words of Jesus, what we do in this life will have an effect on our life in the next. So, in many ways we are just beginning to live, and every day we become more alive.