A while ago, I was taken aback when I saw this newspaper headline:
“John Doe, aged 102, passed away unexpectedly.”
102? Unexpectedly? I tell people that in the highly unlikely event I see 102 birthday candles on my cake (quick! call the Fire Department!), that I would have been “expecting” it every day for some time.
There was a time that I just skipped over the Obituary section of the newspaper, but no more. It was how I found out that my volleyball captain and best man at our wedding had passed away, for example. We had moved away and grown apart, but it was still a bit of a shock.
So my heart was heavy this week when Ellie Hartz suddenly went to her reward. To the two-thirds of the recipients on this email who are not members of the First Congregational Church in Hanson (FCCH), I will explain that she was a dear sister who will be remembered for her witness and her smile. Plus she always laughed at my jokes during the Deacon’s meetings. Even the bad ones.
I cannot admit to a 100% understanding of the following verse, but I thank Ellie for getting me a little closer to that goal:
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” [Psalm 116:15]
And we know Who is aware of the length of our life on earth:
“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” [Psalm 139:16b]
So we know a day is coming when we will reach the shores of Heaven, and that day will likely be unexpected. How, then, should we order our lives until that time? Let’s start with remembering this, every day, as I’m sure Ellie did:
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” [Psalm 118:24]
Blessings,
Keith