We Have This Moment
The snow came late this year--it had seemed that winter was never going to come, but like a latecomer to a party it did.
It was an ordinary Thursday when they got into their vehicles and set out. Ontarians are used to driving in winter, but the sudden snowstorm seemed to come out of nowhere and they found themselves on a major highway in snow that fell so thick and fast that the cars slowed to a crawl, barely able to see the vehicle in front of them. It was close to midday but time seemed strangely suspended. Back muscles tensed, white knuckled hands gripped steering wheels, radios were turned off so that drivers could concentrate better. Some lips whispered prayers and the name of Jesus was breathed.
Suddenly there was the sickening repeated thud and crash of metal on metal and adrenaline rushed through veins in panic, helplessness and vulnerability. Caught in the ripple effect of collisions as if part of some awful domino game, metal caved like pop cans being crunched. Flames leapt into the air--and from inside a truck cab, came frantic screams for help.
This morning it was reported that two people died in the terrible crash on highway 401, and not five as was originally thought. It could have been so much worse and it seems a miracle that it wasn't. Those who survived have a second chance at life.
Life is so fragile and yet we go through it as though we are invincible. We prepare for every possibility in life except this--that it could end--we somehow hide our own mortality from our minds.
I guess the upward look from this tragedy is that we have a chance to adjust our perspective. We can recognize that none of us is irreplacable at work, but we are to our family and friends. We can express our feelings to those we love--every day. If we mean to make our peace with God some day, we can do it now--we have this moment.
Matthew 6:33 (New Living Translation)
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
It was an ordinary Thursday when they got into their vehicles and set out. Ontarians are used to driving in winter, but the sudden snowstorm seemed to come out of nowhere and they found themselves on a major highway in snow that fell so thick and fast that the cars slowed to a crawl, barely able to see the vehicle in front of them. It was close to midday but time seemed strangely suspended. Back muscles tensed, white knuckled hands gripped steering wheels, radios were turned off so that drivers could concentrate better. Some lips whispered prayers and the name of Jesus was breathed.
Suddenly there was the sickening repeated thud and crash of metal on metal and adrenaline rushed through veins in panic, helplessness and vulnerability. Caught in the ripple effect of collisions as if part of some awful domino game, metal caved like pop cans being crunched. Flames leapt into the air--and from inside a truck cab, came frantic screams for help.
This morning it was reported that two people died in the terrible crash on highway 401, and not five as was originally thought. It could have been so much worse and it seems a miracle that it wasn't. Those who survived have a second chance at life.
Life is so fragile and yet we go through it as though we are invincible. We prepare for every possibility in life except this--that it could end--we somehow hide our own mortality from our minds.
I guess the upward look from this tragedy is that we have a chance to adjust our perspective. We can recognize that none of us is irreplacable at work, but we are to our family and friends. We can express our feelings to those we love--every day. If we mean to make our peace with God some day, we can do it now--we have this moment.
Matthew 6:33 (New Living Translation)
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
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