January 23, 2019 – Click here to listen
I went to a local tackle store a while ago to see a friend of mine and buy some fishing hooks. I left the store and as I drove out of the parking lot I noticed a couple of tourists, a man and a woman, walking bicycles down the road. I pulled out onto the busy highway that was unusually congested, as it was suffering from Thanksgiving tourist traffic, and I went home.
I found out later that the lady tourist with the bicycle that I had passed on the road was killed crossing the street right after I left. Apparently she was from Australia and in Australia they drive on the left side of the road. Out of habit, she looked the wrong way down the road to check for oncoming traffic when she got ready to cross the street, and since the road seemed clear, she stepped right out in front of a car which struck her and killed her instantly.
It turns out that the couple was married and on vacation in the Keys. The husband was so distraught that he had to be treated by an ambulance crew as did the driver of the car. I cannot get this out of my mind. Life is fragile is it not? One minute this couple was happily riding their bicycles and enjoying their Keys vacation complete with perfect weather and the next minute tragedy strikes hard.
If you are expecting me to say something profound about how to cope with such a tragic event, there are no words sufficient. I have experienced tragedy commensurate to this magnitude personally in my life, and it is exceedingly difficult to cope with the deep sorrow regardless of the strength of one’s faith. I have made that long flight to Australia and can only imagine the pain the husband will endure on that very long flight home as he relives the tragedy that occurred right before his eyes over and over again.
Only God can heal such pain. It is my hope and prayer that God will draw near to both the driver of the car, (who was not ticketed as the accident was entirely unavoidable), and the husband and comfort them as only He can do.
Life can be short and you never know when your number or someone you love will be called in that regard. Perhaps it will be today as you head home in traffic. Are you ready to meet God almighty face to face today? If not, then simply bow your head wherever you are and ask Jesus to come into your heart and your life from this moment on. He alone can forgive your sins and offer eternal life in paradise reconciled forever with God free from the suffering and pain of this world. God watched His only Son die on a cross and understands exactly the pain that the husband of this poor woman feels. Only He can heal such wounds. Jesus gave His life in order that we might live. Take advantage of His love while there is yet time . . .
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.