Brevity of Life

On 18 May this year one of my NUS classmate  passed on.  We were not close during medical school days and I did not see her again after graduation. Our class had only 150 students so everyone knew who everyone else was. Last year I heard she was ill from intractable cancer. On 19 May I saw her obituary in the newspapers.
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​People are usually confronted of their mortality when a friend or loved one is found to be terminally ill or dies. I am already in my late 40s and my work as a family physician brings me to manage patients of my age with chronic illness, and some with a past record of myocardial infarction, stroke and cancer. I am constantly reminded in my line of work that my time is running out but paradoxically I am often caught up with the contemporary and have problems prioritizing eternal matters.

​How rightly so that Moses in Psalms 90 prayed that he needed both to be reminded of the brevity of his life and gain wisdom from it. So I too pray for wisdom to follow through with God’s reminders

Psalms 90:12
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
 
My classmate is a Christian so she spirit is now resting with the Lord. We will meet again one day.

*NUS = National University of Singaore

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