"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." -Benjamin Franklin

Can there be any truer words about American society than the quote you have just read? And if this is true, then is it possible to be prepared for either? We all know that we eventually die in this world, and we also know that April 15th comes every year, yet we are always traumatized by the arrival of both.

So how can we prepare for the inevitable? Or can we? Recently, my father's best friend from his childhood lost his wife. My father and he have gotten together several times every year for as long as I can remember and both he and his wife always treated us like family. I grew up going to Nascar races with his children. Our families were close, to say the least. And then a few years ago his wife became sick. The type of sickness that we all fear and hope never happens to us. For several years, my father watched as his friend suffered. The suffering that only comes from being helpless to do anything about the situation you are in. You can call out to your God over and over again for mercy, but all that comes is the knowledge that you are truly helpless. You can try every medicine and cure known to our culture, and still know that you can do nothing but wait. That, to me, is suffering. In the end, this sickness took her life with all of her family standing beside her.

We all knew, in some way or another, that her life would end just as everyone else will, but we still hoped. Why? Because hope gives us a fighting chance. It's that belief that miracles can happen. Sometimes they do, and others...

We all knew it was coming, and yet we were all blown away when it happened. That piece of our lives that only came out of love was gone, never to be gained again except through the fleeting memories that we can hold on to while we are still alive. So, how do we prepare? And what does this have to do with taxes?

If you are in college right now, most likely you have no idea what type of a headache you will have with taxes when you get into the professional world. Notice, I didn't say real world there. It's because I don't believe there is a difference between worlds. I just believe this is the world we live in and if you are lucky enough to not have a terrible job, then that is your real world and people that tell you they live in the real world are just jealous cry-babies.

When you get into the professional world, you will make money. And as you make this money, you will discover that the government wants their percentage of your money. So, if you work for someone else, they gradually take it out for you and pay it to the government. But, if you work for yourself, you find that April 15th should be, and will be feared. Because that is the day, that all of the money you owe the government is due. And if you don't have it, you are up the creek without a paddle. They say that there is nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned. Ha!! The person that said that must not have had to pay taxes because obviously, an audit by the government is a much more horrible fear for me to consider than any woman I may have angered in my single days.

So, as I work extremely hard for the money I earn, I have bills that pile up. I have children to feed, and sometimes, well, all the time, it seems that my car needs an oil change, or tires, or a tune-up or brakes. My house needs a new roof, or an inspection or a new porch, etc. etc. etc. There is always something that takes my money away. And every day, I look at the money I have set aside for taxes and wonder if I should use it to help or not. Because I know that I need it now, but I also know that I am going to need it even more on April 15th.

I know that day is coming, just as I know my time of death will be as well. And there is no way to truly prepare for either except to live every day as the day before you. The bible tells us to not worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own. If that doesn't hit the nail on the head, I don't know what will, because as I wrote this, I found out that I made a mistake at work yesterday and somehow I need to scramble to find time to fix it. Yes, nothing in this world is certain other than death and taxes. If you plan to live in the free world, you have to pay for it. But that is the joy before us.

We honor the freedoms that we have by paying to have them. Our taxes pay for roads, our protection and our educations. And we honor the loved ones who have gone from us, by living our lives to the fullest. We don't sit and sulk over what we have lost. Instead, we live every day like it is our last and get as much out of it as we can and we do it with the loved ones that we are lucky enough to know and have. Today, when you are thinking about what you might not have, be thankful for what you do, because even when you know something is coming, there is really no way to prepare for it, so do your best to live the best way you can.