A SECOND FROM ETERNITY

            Today I almost died.

            It all started with a series of bad days;

            Sunday, the washer broke. Len fixed that.

            Monday, the fridge broke. Len fixed that, temporarily. Christopher came down with a bad cough (he has a history of asthma and pneumonia, so coughs are no small deal with him).

            Tuesday, the oven broke. Len couldn’t fix that.

            So I went to the store this morning to buy a few microwavable meals. I was having a bit of a pity-party on the way there and my mind was on my woes as I pushed my cart back to the car when a woman in a red pick-up truck suddenly backed out of her parking space. She ran over my shopping cart with her huge all-wheel-drive. If she’d backed out one second later, it would have been me under those monstrous tires. As it was, I was about two inches from her rear tires.

            A man in another pick-up truck witnessed the whole scene. He told me he thought I was a goner.

            I’m still shaking from it all and had a good cry on the drive home. Shock does that to you. But as I contemplated the near-miss, it made me put things into perspective. Life is the most precious thing we own and it can be snatched away in just a moment. All the rest is just stuff. But life is eternal.

            My first thought was for my husband and sons. How would they carry on without me? But more than that, where would I be now if she had run me over? I know with absolute certainty that I would be with Jesus for I’ve given Him my heart. John 3:36 says, “He who believes has eternal life.” And that is my most precious assurance.

            I’m glad I’m still here. So glad! Life is a gift we so often take for granted; until it’s almost taken away. Today I’m going to hug my Len a little stronger, hold my sons a little longer. And thank God for giving me another day to live.

(Within a day, we had two different individuals offer us a fridge and an oven that were ‘just sitting around’. Free! God provided for our need long before our appliances broke down. God is good, He is faithful. Even when things seem to be falling apart around us, He is still in control.)