Advice from a Ghost.

A ghost came to visit me last night.
She didn’t cause me to fear or fright.
She was in a rather approachable mood.
Not nasty, wicked or rude.
Her eyes were as dark as midnight and skin as white as chalk.
The slightest smile was made and I could tell…she wanted to talk.

“The movies make us out to be a little weird,” she softly said.
“We’re not out to scare you just because we’re dead.
You think we like to haunt houses and roam dusty halls,
But there’s more to us than pictures on old, dusty walls.”

“We once enjoyed the same sunny days that you do now, my friend,
But we didn’t fully understand those moments would come to an end.
So who cares if we can float through a thick wall or a door?
I’d much rather sleep on a fluffy bed or dance on a hardwood floor.”

“I bet you can see why most of us feel somewhat cheated.
The things we wanted to do were never quite completed.”
You think life is a casual race that you will eventually win.
But let me assure, as I look at you now, death is quietly closing in.”

“But there’s a bright dot within this dark and gloomy speech
And that is the one message I’ve come to bare; my only lesson to teach.”

“Your days are numbered…”

“It’s quite simple and that’s all I have to say.
So whatever you plan on doing tomorrow, get it done today.
The love letter you forgot to write or too busy to make that call?
Those tiny moments give us ghosts the worst nightmares of all.”

“Goodbye for now,” she whispered and vanished like a kite in a storm.
And I lied there in my bed all night not feeling terribly warm.

I struggled in my sleep as I drowned in her ghostly words.
Until I heard the angelic singing of early morning birds.
As my eyes opened, I saw the comforting glow of the sun.
And I found a new day waiting for me
To finish what I’ve begun.
~

Author: John Piper

Image: flickr/Timothy Armstrong

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock