What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. – James 4:14

Yesterday my grandson Jackson and I hit the theater for the matinee of “Peter Pan.” I was eager to share with him the show that I had loved so much as a child. I was very familiar with the songs, which my sister and I had played on a vinyl record day in and day out, and I sang them to Jack in the car on the way there. He was somewhat less enthusiastic than I was when he left the house, reluctant to leave his videogames behind and spend all afternoon at a show he wasn’t sure he’d enjoy.

But God answers all kinds of prayers, including those of a grandmother wanting to make some good memories. By the time the window magically opened, and Peter was flying into the bedroom, a dark silhouette against a deep blue sky full of stars, complete with fairy dust and music hitting an ominous crescendo, my grandson was whooping and clapping as excitedly as any child there.

He recognized the songs I’d been teaching him in the car, and I caught him mouthing some of the words, especially “I Won’t Grow Up!” which was so easy, since much of it involved just repeating what Peter sang. We sang along. We tapped our toes to the dancing. We laughed together at Captain Hook and Smee.

And I cried.

It took me by surprise, since the first time it happened was during an especially silly song, and I didn’t know why it would elicit tears. But then I realized that my mind was replaying hours of play with my big sister Susie, where we would sing and dance and pretend to be the characters. Usually, I was Wendy, since I was more of the girly-girl, while Susie was the one determined not to ever, ever grow up!

Fast Forward – She did grow up … kinda. Susie’s living in the Arizona sunshine with her pool, her hiking trails, her mountain bikes, and motor home to satisfy her wanderlust. Of course, now she spends too much of her time going to health specialists and has less time and energy to “play,” but her spirit hasn’t changed.

Meanwhile, “Wendy” grew up, too. I was the one who became a mother of three, grandmother of five, and teacher, not of lost boys (exactly) but of middle school students, which was not that different.

But yesterday afternoon, suddenly all those years melted away, and there we were again in my mind’s eye, and the tears were spilling over during the silliest parts of the play.

What happened?! How did we get to be in our seventies? Where did the last 65 years go?

This thought is especially sobering, since I know that the next decade will fly by faster than the one before, and for all I know, I may not even reach tomorrow. (That possibility becomes more likely with each passing day.)

This might even be a depressing thought, if I didn’t know that the best is yet to come. I don’t know how unbelievers deal with the certainty of death, but those of us who follow Jesus Christ also have the certainty of resurrection and eternal life! And the next life will not only be better, but it will also be far more real than this life. “Now we see but a poor reflection, as in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)

A couple of dreams I had recently drove this point home. https://seekingdivineperspective.com/2025/03/01/behind-the-veil/

So, while I may weep at unexpected times as the brevity of life hits me especially hard, I am comforted and excited to know what lies ahead – not know exactly, since Jesus said we couldn’t even imagine it – but to know that He’s preparing it for us, and so it’s going to be incredible!

No, there is no Neverland, but there’s something better. I hope I see you there.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the past 72 years of life. Thanks for blessing me with the “good times,” for carrying me through the hard times, for giving me the strength when I did what was right, and for forgiving me when I didn’t. Every moment of this life that has flown by has been in Your hands, and I know that every moment of the future will continue to be. I am Yours, today, tomorrow, and forever. And I pray that every person who reads this post today will draw a bit closer to You because of having read it. And if any of them have not given their lives to You yet, especially those whose lives have just begun and who are completely oblivious to the brevity of their years, may they seek the Truth, find You, give their lives to You, and during these fleeting years be everything You created them to be, in Jesus’ Name. Amen