Hebel

A breath. A vapor. A puff of wind. The Hebrew word is hebel. It is used over 30 times in the book of Ecclesiastes.

A rule I live by: This life is hebel. 

Fleeting. A breath and there are three children. A vapor and our parents' health is failing or they have left us. A puff of wind and maybe we are attending the graduations of our own kids. 

This last Sunday I turned 43. At one point during the day I closed my eyes and flashed back to my high school graduation. I can still see my mother and father beaming with pride. And feel my own sense of accomplishment and wonder at the future yet to come. When my eyes opened, there before me were my three young children.

In his 2015 article “The Tail End,” Tim Urban charts the amount of time a parent will spend with their child and when the vast majority of that time takes place. At the time of this writing Mr. Urban is 34 and is taking stock of the time he has left with his own parents. He remarks: 

It turns out that when I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. I’m now enjoying the last 5% of that time. We’re in the tail end.

Because this life is hebel. And that understanding grants me vitality. And for my wife and I, this has manifested in prioritizing each other, our three young children and our loved ones in this season.* 

We paused our careers and spent nearly two years being as fully present as possible. We traveled the world together. We tapped into our future retirement and used those resources now, while we still can. While the kids are young. Because life is hebel.

And because this life is so fleeting, my rule that I have lived by in this season is to cherish every breath, every vapor, every puff of wind. Hebel.  

*Another rule I live by: View and live life in seasons. I think this allows for grace when things do not go as expected.