He was so tiny—a head full of jet-black hair still matted with blood from his delivery. Tiny cries escaped his miniature mouth. I was awestruck at the sight of him. I watched quietly as the new father finished sharpening a piece of bamboo before placing it in the fire. I leaned over to my cousin John and asked in a whisper what his intention was for the now smoldering piece of cane. “He will use it to cut the cord,” John said. As if on cue, the man took the bamboo out of the fire and swiftly and easily cut the cord. A new life had begun.

The following evening, I was walking up the riverbed thinking about how incredible it had been to witness something so beautiful. My thoughts were broken by the sight of John following a few other men across the riverbed and up a densely wooded hillside. They were carrying digging implements. “What’s going on?” I called.

“A lady just passed away,” came the reply. “They will soon bury her next to her husband.” I watched as the men began to dig a hole. Then I watched as they carried the lifeless body to its final resting place. As the sun set, the men covered her with the same earth she had walked upon for more than 70 years. A life had ended.

Life is such an incredible gift of God! Un-promised and undefined, it’s ours only fleetingly, and then we must give it back. With every fiber of my being, I want to honor this gift for as long as it’s in my care. So today I commit again to looking up when I feel like looking down, to being as thankful for the small things as I am for the big ones, to recognizing challenges as opportunities and failures as fresh starts. Today, I commit again to live!

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