EVANESCENT

It’s no secret that I like words. I am enamored with the blank canvas of a sentence yet to be. I’m enchanted with a story begging for just the right adjective to illuminate and animate its essence. Words are like arranging the furniture in a dreary parlor to find just the right arrangement and accessories to make the perfect living room. I confess that I even like the way certain words feel when they travel from mind to mouth and exhale through waiting lips to seek out an audience. Words hold both power and delight. They must be used with caution for they have equal potential to lift weary souls and yet also to completely shatter the fragile. Words as treasures and gifts are the messengers of the heart. Words as weapons and unfiltered ramblings become torpedoes that destroy harmony and progress. Their importance cannot be underestimated and must always echo the divine measure: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). So the apostle Paul urges us, “Let your conversation be always full of grace… (Colossians 4:6).”

Which brings me to my new friend and addition to my wrangling corral of words: Evanescent. Don’t be mistaken and think he is my bubbly friend effervescent or jump to conclusions that its something to do with Evan’s natural body odor. This is the word that describes life. It captures both the fragile nature of life as well as the challenge to savor each moment. Evanescent is a word borrowed from the Latin that means to vanish, to dissipate like a vapor. James the brother of our Lord writes, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).” Yes, life is evanescent and we are as Job suggests withering flowers and fleeting shadows. Life at best is short. Too short not to savor each moment and strive to make the best of what each day brings.

So, here is the evanescent point… make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5). Stop the busyness and noise of rushing to the next moment and breathe deeply what is before you. Worship God in the present. Shower those next to you with a love that has no other focus than to be with them in the moment. See the colors. Hear the breath of life. Smell the aroma of Christ. Feel the warmth of eternal life that beckons us home in the promise of a return. And know the joy of the Lord that provides a peace that passes all understanding! -DAN