Sudden Death

Darlene Henry, the warm and talented wife of my predecessor as pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, had a massive stroke Easter evening. She died three days later. Eddie retired two years ago, and Darlene was set to retire in two months.

This was the second unexpected death in the church family in as many weeks.

One of the first things that comes to most people’s minds in such a situation is, “Why?” We understand that everyone has to die, but when someone doesn’t reach what we consider a normal life span, we want a reason. There are those who get comfort from believing that God wills and causes everything that happens, and that we just have to trust that God had his reasons. This is not the place for a theological argument. Let me just say that the way I read the Bible, and the way my relationship with God leads me to understand him, makes me see it differently. We live in a fallen world where God’s will is not always done. People dying painfully or before their time is an example of that.

What hit me about both these deaths was the unexpectedness. We can make all the plans in the world, but tomorrow is never guaranteed. I’m all in favor of delayed gratification and prudent planning for retirement. But I have to ask myself, is there something I really want to do, something I believe is important, something I am putting off into an uncertain future, that maybe I should begin working on right now, or that might give me a reason not to work until they make me stop? Those books I want to write, if I believe they are going to be a blessing to other people, can I really afford to wait until I retire to start writing them? Those special things I want to do with Paula and the kids, how sure can I be that they and I will be around and healthy and able to enjoy them fifteen years from now?

Death makes you think about things.