Borrowed Time

 How many times have we ever heard of the line, "you'll never get to know the worth of a person until he or she is gone"? Moreover, how would you feel if the person who has gone, has left earlier than expected? These are the thoughts that flashed in my mind upon remembering the deaths of young famous people. R and B superstar Aaliyah died at the age of 21 from a plane crash. Famous book author Anne Frank died in a concentration camp at the age of 15. Brandon Lee, actor, martial arts expert and son of Bruce Lee, died at the age of 28. Philippine national hero Emilio Jacinto died at the age of 24. Philippines' young singer and actress Julie Vega died at the age 16. Philippine matinee idol Rico Yan died at the age of of 27 and just recently teen actor AJ Perez died at the age of 18.

     When you get to know the lives these people lived, you will find out that these people are either about to start promising careers if not have already carved out their niche in their respective fields. They have already brought out great inspiration to people around them and to those who are following them. More often than not, you could hear only good words or good thoughts about them.  The family that they have left behind could only remember nothing but happy and heartwarming memories of them. You could only just imagine how much pain these people feel upon such loss. It does not follow the natural chronology of things. They must still have lived longer lives. 

      On a personal account, I have had known two people within my circle who parted life young, one by accident at the age of 18 and the other did it deliberately at the age of 19. Without question, I can strongly feel the pain the family members and closed ones feel out of the experience. I could remember these friends of mine as people who had bright ideas, commendable creativity and very honest intentions in life. My specific personal encounters with them are still vividly imprinted on my mind. When I come to recollect on them, I just could not keep myself from wondering if there is any wisdom that can be sought from all of these. Why do some people die young? How could this be ever justifiable?

       Occasionally I wince when, in such situations, I hear individuals utter, "It's what God wants" or "Its God's will". For sure there is a very thin divide between what God wants and what God permits. It is a fact that a lot of things in life are a mystery and some could have long scriptural thoughts about God and evil and why cruel and unlikely circumstances transpire to good persons. I don't comprehend all things that happen in life and I definitely could not provide easy elucidations for why young people die early while other's live up to a hundred years old or more. 

      Do good people die young? Yes, at times. Do wicked, cruel or bad people live lengthy lives? Yes, at times. Do certain people exist for a long time because they need plenty of time for an abysmal spiritual change to happen within a person? This can be very possible. Life indeed is a mystery. It is highly improbable that we will understand its full essence while we are still alive. Through faith we confidently accept that our lives and other people’s lives, no matter how brief, has a reason and life isn’t just a string of unplanned, insignificant experiences. I strongly am certain that life and pain have significance that someday we hopefully could understand. Integrated to this mystery of life is that we do not know when it ends. This reality should make us realize that we have to live each day well and live it to its fullest. This is simply because our time is just leased to us for a specific period. We are living on BORROWED TIME.