Life is too short

I had just called my friend after a long while this year. It was probably the first time we were talking since the start of the year. She was my best friend in campus and still is my best friend to date. The sound of her voice on the other end was nostalgic.  Because I did not have enough airtime on my phone I hurried the conversation, making sure I said the most important things

“Yani tuliamua mimi na wewe hatutakuwa tukiongeleshana” (You mean we-You and I- decided we would not be in speaking terms). She said this as we conversed on the phone and it made me feel so guilty I wished she had another friend other than me. It was the feeling of having let someone down and not being there for them when they needed you most. We patched up our gaps in less than three minutes with the promise of meeting so we could catch up more.

At night while heading home something rather unfortunate happened. It shook me back to my senses and made me realize something I have been ignoring or treating casually in my life.

I had just come from my Bible Study in town. It was about 9:30 PM when the bus I was in wound its way along the estate roads. I was seated on a window seat at the driver’s side of the bus and beside me was a lecturer from my University. He kept on making calls and speaking about a classmate he once had who ‘disappeared’ after graduation in the 80s only to resurface as a vetting commissioner. He saw him on TV; I didn’t pay much attention to his conversations. I was already lost in my own world just trying to examine my life and put my future into perspective. In fact his constant calling was a nuisance to me.

A man was wildly gesticulating on the roadside. He was calling for help trying to beg motorists passing by to help him. Something tragic had happened! A few meters from him lay a man, unconscious or dead. He had either been hit by a speeding vehicle or a motorbike. The place where he lay was filled with his blood and just about a meter away his umbrella lay.

A wave of emotion washed over me. I felt sorry. Not for the man but for myself. People who sat behind me only expressed their shock at the scene by wondering what could have happened.

“That could have been me!” “It could have been someone I know. A friend! A neighbor!” I felt sorry! In my shock I just asked for forgiveness from God. It is then that I realized the folly of living as though tomorrow is a debt God owes me. He owes me nothing! My dear friend or I could have suffered something similar or worse. My call to her could have gone unanswered or maybe a strange voice could have picked up only to give me the devastating news. What could have become of me if -God forbid- that is what could have happened?

That is when I learned we should live every moment to the fullest, appreciate those around you and be a good person to others, let those around you feel your presence positively, because you never know what may happen next