life is fragile . . .

Tonight, I have a heavy heart.

Today, I heard of another loss.

An unexpected, earth-shattering, life altering loss.

All losses, I suppose fit that description, but one that comes so totally unexpectedly, seemingly "out of the blue" (to human minds) somehow seem to be a "wake up" call . . . a call to remind us that life is FRAGILE.  That not one of us knows the time or the place when the Lord will take us Home.

This loss came to a family that I do not know well, but they are friends to some of our VERY GOOD friends.  So, the family is hurting and our friends are hurting, and ultimately, I am hurting.

Maybe because I have experienced that unexpected, earth-shattering, life altering, "out of the blue" loss, I in some small way feel their pain, relate to their pain, their shock.  To honor their privacy, I won't give further details, it is their story to tell, not mine.

But, because of their story, I will say tonight, remember to LOVE those closest to you.  Hug them.  Tell them you love them.  Cherish them - imperfections and all.  Make time for them - no job, no school work, no amount of money, NOTHING can give you back time once it is gone (trust me, I KNOW that first hand - today I was looking back through my time sheets from work - last fall, prior to Rick's accident, I had weeks where I worked 50 hours and more.  Not ONE of those extra hours, or the extra dollars I earned can bring Rick back to us).  Again today, I was reminded that life is fragile.  Life is fleeting.  Only the Lord knows the number of breaths we will take, and once they are gone, we CANNOT recover them.  

I challenge you - make your time count.  And make sure when your time on earth is done, you are ready to meet the Lord.  As much as hearing of this loss today brings me back to the moment I heard the news of Rick's death, it reminds me how at THAT MOMENT, I was filled with the PEACE that I knew where Rick was.  I knew that though my world just "crashed", he was safe in the arms of JESUS.  That is the ONE thing I was sure of at that moment - and am still sure of!  That knowledge is what sustains me from day to day and allows me to go on from day to day.  Make sure you have that same assurance, that same knowledge.  There is nothing more important than this knowledge, there is no more important decision you can make in your life.  Accept the FREE gift of SALVATION ... available to ALL who will call upon the name of the Lord.  You cannot earn it, you cannot buy it, you can never be good enough or nice enough.  Going to church won't do it for you.  The only way you can have that assurance is to believe that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"!  It really is THAT easy, that's all there is to it - ACCEPT the FREE gift of salvation given to you by Jesus' death on the cross.  

Today was another reminder that tomorrow is not promised to any of us, our next breath is not promised to us.  ONLY GOD KNOWS!  Make SURE you know what will happen to you when your fragile life here on earth is through.  Rick knew, I knew he knew, so though it will take a lifetime to "forget" him, I am promised an ETERNITY with him in Heaven!