A Split Second From Eternity
Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number
of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you,
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Psalm 39:4-5
Have you ever been so close to going in to eternity that you held your breath....and was afraid it would be your last? And....the things that go through your mind is not, “what a terrible place this world is becoming” or, “what is in my bank account, will I be able to pay this or that bill?” Or, “I’ve really messed up that relationship, how will I ever fix it?” No - because there is no time.....it’s running out - this could be it - forever! The only thing that came to mind was, “Dear God!” That’s it - a simple prayer - but one that worked!
I had just met Dave, my husband, for dinner before his meeting at the church and was on my way home. I stopped by the store briefly to pick up a few things, then, as usual, headed on home to do a few chores to prepare for the next day and await Dave. I saw the light was green but as I entered the intersection at Flora and Sprague Avenue, it changed to yellow, when suddenly a car came out of nowhere, obviously running a red light and was right in front of me! I hit the brakes, practically standing on them as I called out “Dear God....” when the car zoomed past within four or five feet of me! I sat in shock for a moment realizing I had almost t-boned that car! Everyone at the lights waited for me to clear the intersection, so I did and headed home! Everything along the way looked the same; same road, same driveway, same house. Yet, something had changed.
For some reason I didn’t mention it to Dave when he got home, I guess I didn’t want to worry him, and he had other things on his mind, so we sat and chatted about the things of the day. But, the next morning when I had coffee and sat down to read my devotions, it finally dawned on me how close I had come to not being here this morning to have coffee, to chat with Dave about our day, to pray for the children and to go about our day doing what we do. The normal and sometimes mundane things, preparing breakfast, throwing in laundry before heading out to work, and planning other events for the week. I had almost missed this! I would also have missed our trip to Oregon in a couple of weeks to visit our daughter and family; our vacation to Indiana this summer to see our son and his family, to celebrate with our grandson, Ben, as he graduates from high school, or grandson Caleb play football; to cheer for grandsons Logan and Levi at soccer games. We were looking forward to seeing our newly married grandson, David, and getting to know our sweet granddaughter-in-law better. So much, so much I’d miss! The thought of not seeing our children and grandchildren’s faces, enjoying our times together and making memories that carry us from one time to the next, getting together with friends, praying with others at church, enjoying those special times in the morning with the Lord - just being there! What if.......what if God had not intervened in that split second - I hardly had time to see the other car traveling so fast - at least 50-60 mph - and if I had been in the intersection a nano-second earlier....I would have been the one t-boned and probably thrown into eternity! But God.....
He had heard my prayer...small as it was.....and answered!
Why did He do it, I wondered? To give me longer life, naturally, but what shall I do with this precious time He has given?
I thought about it and wondered have I told those closest to me, my family, close friends, my church family, my pastors, just how much I love and appreciate them. How much they have contributed to my life and blessed me by being a part of my life. Why do we wait to do this? Why not tell them today?
I also realized this was a golden opportunity - a not-to-be-wasted opportunity - to tell others about Him and His wonderful love and grace; to tell them that although their decision to accept Jesus into their life might only take a split second - it would be the most important second of their life and change their whole eternity.
I know that I want to spend this gift of time He has given me wisely, not wasting a moment; to love Him more fully, spending quality time deepening my relationship with Him and with those that I love so dearly! What a precious gift!