IN HIS SONG, “IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES,” GARTH BROOKS follows that phrase with, “Would you know how much I love you?” The answer is obvious, so it must be a rhetorical question. James tells us in 4:13-14, You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Now that’s a sobering thought isn’t it? If there was no tomorrow, would I have said everything I needed to say and done everything I needed to do?
Probably not. Most of us are either focused on yesterday or what is yet before us in the days ahead, so things that should be said and done now, while we have time go unsaid and undone.
No one knows that more than those who work in the medical field, especially those who deal with death and the dying. Dr. Robert D. Lesslie, an ER physician wrote a book titled, Angels in the ER—the stories of doctors, nurses, EMT personnel, and patients who exhibit angel-like qualities.
In the chapter, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” Dr. Lesslie relates the story of two sisters, Christy and Jane who were very close growing up. But that all changed the day Jane, the older sister, brought the man she was going to marry, home to meet the family. The family did not approve and Jane greatly resented it---so the rift began. She was a free spirit and so she and her boyfriend got married on a beach in California, far from her family and friends.
Fast-forward to the present. Christy had cancer and was not given long to live. Jane, who lived in California was notified but seemed almost disinterested. She and Christy had hardly spoken in the last 5 years. The family reached out continually to Jane, hoping she would somehow forget the past and be reconciled to them while there was still time. But Jane’s hurt was so deep that she developed a hard crust around her heart. That was the only way she could deal with it.
Finally the day came when Christy’s life was ebbing away. Admitted to the ER in Rock Hill, South Carolina, it wasn’t long before Christy’s soul silently drifted into the presence of God.
Jane had caught the first flight she could arrange out of Los Angeles, but there had been several delays. She made it to Rock Hill in time for the visitation and the funeral.
Got something that needs to be said or done? Fences that need mending? Hurts that need forgiving? Do it today for tomorrow may never come!
Now that’s a sobering thought isn’t it? If there was no tomorrow, would I have said everything I needed to say and done everything I needed to do?
Probably not. Most of us are either focused on yesterday or what is yet before us in the days ahead, so things that should be said and done now, while we have time go unsaid and undone.
No one knows that more than those who work in the medical field, especially those who deal with death and the dying. Dr. Robert D. Lesslie, an ER physician wrote a book titled, Angels in the ER—the stories of doctors, nurses, EMT personnel, and patients who exhibit angel-like qualities.
In the chapter, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” Dr. Lesslie relates the story of two sisters, Christy and Jane who were very close growing up. But that all changed the day Jane, the older sister, brought the man she was going to marry, home to meet the family. The family did not approve and Jane greatly resented it---so the rift began. She was a free spirit and so she and her boyfriend got married on a beach in California, far from her family and friends.
Fast-forward to the present. Christy had cancer and was not given long to live. Jane, who lived in California was notified but seemed almost disinterested. She and Christy had hardly spoken in the last 5 years. The family reached out continually to Jane, hoping she would somehow forget the past and be reconciled to them while there was still time. But Jane’s hurt was so deep that she developed a hard crust around her heart. That was the only way she could deal with it.
Finally the day came when Christy’s life was ebbing away. Admitted to the ER in Rock Hill, South Carolina, it wasn’t long before Christy’s soul silently drifted into the presence of God.
Jane had caught the first flight she could arrange out of Los Angeles, but there had been several delays. She made it to Rock Hill in time for the visitation and the funeral.
Got something that needs to be said or done? Fences that need mending? Hurts that need forgiving? Do it today for tomorrow may never come!
posted by kazookid | 4:02 PM
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