Life can change in a second

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

2022 Blog #43

October 31, 2022

Life can change in a second

More than twenty years ago I heard the shocking news that a great friend, mentor and minister in the Albany area suddenly collapsed while jogging. He had died instantly of a burst aneurism. It had burst in a split second.

Not look after my mentor died, my mother-in-law was out for her daily walk. As she aged she was conscious of her blood pressure. She took daily walks of one mile and was diligent about taking her blood pressure medication. While walking she suddenly collapsed, the victim of a major stroke. She lived a number years after that but was permanently paralyzed on her left side. She went from mobile to paralyzed in a split second.

Almost three years ago my sister had just dressed for work when she suddenly collapsed and died of a massive heart attack. She died instantly. Her death came also in a split second.

Two weeks ago I was speaking to one of my elders on the phone. Without warning, her speech changed and she said that something was wrong. After the ambulance took her to the hospital it was determined that she had a brain tumor and would require surgery. She is undergoing post-surgical treatment now. In a split second her voice changed from normal to slurry. What a different a second can make.

A week ago a tragedy happened to a young man in a town a few miles from ours. He commuted to New York City every day where he worked as a stagehand for the Metropolitan Opera. He was twenty years old. His backpack got caught in the subway door and he was dragged to his death. His life ended and his family’s world changed in a single second.

Why am I recording all these tragic stories? Because I am reminded that life is fragile and life is short. I suspect that if we all keep this in mind we would all behave better, be kinder to one another, and even our thoughts would be more gentle. Would we want our last action, our last words or our last thought to be our final ones?

We don’t know how many years or days we have left in our lives. We don’t know if our deaths will be sudden, or if they will come after lengthy illnesses. Nobody but God knows the length of our days. We have no control over that. We can control how we live our years. Will our lives bless others and please God or will we think, act, and speak in ways that harm others and disrespect God?

Life can change or end in a second. How well will we be living at our end?

#ReformedChurchInAmerica                                 #PastorMarkAuthor            

#BergenCounty                                                        #BergenfieldNJ

#Tragedy                                                                   #SuddenDeath

#ChristianLiving                                                       #FaithfulLiving

To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book:https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/