James 4:14 - Whereas you know not what shall be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.

Once again, life has proven the truth of this scripture to me. My family and I have suffered a great loss this past weekend with the sudden passing of my uncle, Del Newman. While 74 may seem an old man to young folks, it doesn’t seem very old at all to me. Sunday a week ago, my uncle led singing at our church. This past Sunday, he lay in rest at nearly the exact spot he sang from a week earlier. Our lives Friday morning were about the same as they had been for a while. Saturday morning, our lives had changed forever.

 On days like today, I remember once again just how fleeting life is and how important it is to embrace a “do it now” mentality.

The scripture may remind us of the importance of acting now when it comes to spiritual matters, because no one knows how many days we have left. Some may think of their “bucket list” and apply the “do it now” mentality to accomplishing those items. I’m thinking about the importance of ‘doing it now’ when it comes to personal relationships.

I’ve long supported and shared my thoughts that when it crosses your mind to call that friend or relative you haven’t spoken with in a long time, do it now. When your heart tells you that you should slow down and go visit someone who may be in the hospital or nursing home, do it now. When you see someone needs some help, don’t wait for someone else to do something, do it now.

All too often, in my life, I’ve had a good intention but didn’t act on it when I should have and before I knew it, it was too late. Every time that happens I tell myself I’m going to do better. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t. I have a bunch of cards at home (get well soon, happy birthday, and so on) that I’ve bought over the years intending to send to someone but they were never mailed.

When it comes to my Uncle Del, I accomplished most of my “do it now” ideas but one was left unfinished, and now, it always will be unfinished.

We have been close through the years. There have been no words left unsaid as to how much we loved each other. I would call him “Uncle Dull” like I pronounced his name as a little guy. He would remind me that he was a ‘monkey’s uncle.’ Over the past few years, he would greet me with a question. “How is my main man doing?”

A few years back I found myself being off work on Veteran’s Day, so I made plans every year for a day out with my favorite veteran, my Uncle Del. The first year we ate at The Gerst Haust restaurant in Nashville in honor of the two years he served as a medic in Germany. We followed it up with his first visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Each year we would eat at a different restaurant and do something different but it was really all about spending time together and making memories.

Capturing his memories better is the bit of unfinished business. Several months ago I decided to sit my uncle down in front of my digital recorder and get him to tell me all the stories about his life growing up, dating my Aunt Ruthie, his service in the Army and so on. I planned to capture an oral history of his life. I even purchased a table top tri-pod so I could set the camera up just right. But I never found the right day to actually capture the memories. I didn’t ‘do it now’ and now it can never be done.

So here’s a warning to my elderly loved ones…go get your hair done. I’ve got my camera and I’m heading your way.

See you next week.