“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom “(Ecclesiastes 9:10).

I had a close call last Friday. Alone at home, I had a pretty bad fall on the ice; and before I knew it, I had hit my head and suffered a concussion, as was evident from the symptoms I later experienced. Before you ask, I am fine now. But I have been thanking and praising God ever since because it could have been so much worse.

As you will recall, it was a very cold day, so I am so thankful that I did not pass out and lie in the frozen snow for any length of time. I did not break any bones. I did not lose any mental function (that I can tell, anyway). And I am so thankful for the reminder that life is so fragile. I am so thankful for the reminder that the things we take for granted are so fleeting.

Reminders are useful if we let them be so. While “what-if’s” can be anxiety-provoking, they can be positive thought-provokers as well, and they make me more intentional about my priorities. For example:

1. If I had not survived the accident, what of significance have I left undone?
2. If I had lost any mental capacity, what do I wish I had made decisions about?
3. If I had lost the ability to speak, what do I wish I had said?

The list goes on.

I remember my pastor from my teen years admonishing us to live every day as thought it were our last. At the time, I took that to mean not procrastinating on the things I wanted to accomplish or experiences I wanted to have in my lifetime. And while those are significant, now I apply it more to relationships. I know now that accomplishments and experiences for the sake of accomplishments and experiences are not bad, but they are not lasting and mostly have no eternal value. However, relationships and our ability to positively impact the lives of others can last beyond our lifetimes.

Most importantly of the “what-if’s” scenarios is: What if I had not been in a right relationship with Jesus, my Lord and Savior?

Peter tells us: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Paul says it another way: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).

Both of these New Testament Apostles are quoting from Old Testament passages in Exodus, Numbers, 2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Psalms, Joel, Jonah, and Nahum. Check them out. Anything repeated this many times must be essential doctrine.

How many times must He tell us before we believe? How many times must He remind us to remain diligent in our relationship with Him? “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” But His patience extends until we breathe our last breath. As it is written in Hebrews: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

And Jesus is quick to remind us: “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13).

In Christ,

Judy