The cycle spins on relentlessly,

From promise of life to finale of death.

So few are the years allotted to one

from the moment of first fragile breath.

An infant is born – happiness reigns –

Parents applaud a new life.

Fast forward through childhood, on to maturity,

struggling through heartache and strife.

The hour and day when we leave this old world

Is a guessing game won by no man.

We feel our mortality closing the gap,

And ponder how short is life’s span.

Another friend dies, a bond is dissolved,

The memories over us flow,

And we ask how much time Is left on the clock

Until it is our time to go.

How God marks the day of departure

Is a mystery that’s His to reveal;

How we use every minute we're given to live

will confirm if our faith is for real.

"The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man;
                it searches out his inmost being."
                                       (Proverbs 20:27 NIV)