I was thinking today about how unpredictable life can be and yet how hard I try to control it. I am very big on making plans and trying to make sure I get things done. But how quickly life can change. We all know that life can change in an instant, but it is so easy to forget it. Until something happens that shocks us into paying attention.
A couple I know just experienced such a shock. Their plans for the weekend were derailed yesterday. They both woke up in the morning, so glad for Friday after a long week of work, shuttling kids back and forth and all of the other mundane things that steal our time and cause stress. When the alarm went off in the morning, it was just another Friday. Ten minutes later, everything had changed.
Sometime in the night, their seventeen year old, very healthy, active and social son had died. He simply went to sleep and never woke up. There was no foul play, no suicidal acts. He simply felt like he was getting a cold, went to sleep and died. Just like that.
And now this family who was looking forward to a relaxing weekend are stricken with grief, dealing with funeral homes and talking about things like autopsies and caskets. They are dealing with grief stricken relatives, rumors from teenagers and their own numbness.
It is really incomprehensible to me to imagine such a scenario. And yet I know that death is always just around the corner. Just a sleepy driver, drunk teenager or slip in the bathtub away at any given moment. Why is it so easy to forget? Is it because we can't deal with the panic and worry that would be our reality if we lived this way?
I think it is because we can not possibly live like every moment is our last. It would be exhausting and we would never accomplish anything. I know I would never clean my house or go to the grocery store if I thought I would die tomorrow. What would be the point? This is not a practical way to live.
But we can live with intentionality. We can plan for our futures, get our responsibilities done and live with open hands. Because at any moment life can be snatched away from us.
A couple I know just experienced such a shock. Their plans for the weekend were derailed yesterday. They both woke up in the morning, so glad for Friday after a long week of work, shuttling kids back and forth and all of the other mundane things that steal our time and cause stress. When the alarm went off in the morning, it was just another Friday. Ten minutes later, everything had changed.
Sometime in the night, their seventeen year old, very healthy, active and social son had died. He simply went to sleep and never woke up. There was no foul play, no suicidal acts. He simply felt like he was getting a cold, went to sleep and died. Just like that.
And now this family who was looking forward to a relaxing weekend are stricken with grief, dealing with funeral homes and talking about things like autopsies and caskets. They are dealing with grief stricken relatives, rumors from teenagers and their own numbness.
It is really incomprehensible to me to imagine such a scenario. And yet I know that death is always just around the corner. Just a sleepy driver, drunk teenager or slip in the bathtub away at any given moment. Why is it so easy to forget? Is it because we can't deal with the panic and worry that would be our reality if we lived this way?
I think it is because we can not possibly live like every moment is our last. It would be exhausting and we would never accomplish anything. I know I would never clean my house or go to the grocery store if I thought I would die tomorrow. What would be the point? This is not a practical way to live.
But we can live with intentionality. We can plan for our futures, get our responsibilities done and live with open hands. Because at any moment life can be snatched away from us.
Oh, Amie. That is just so, so sad. I will be praying for this family. Sounds so much like the Stillwells. How tragic.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading your blog, friend. :)