Your One & Only Life #2: Life Is Uncertain

In 2003 my wife, Marsha, and I left home to attend a friend’s 50th birthday party. We had no idea that in a few hours our lives would be suddenly, irrevocably, and forever changed.

Towards the end of a wonderful evening our friend thanked everyone for attending his party. Suddenly, I felt a weight on my right shoulder as Marsha had slumped down. I grabbed her to keep her from falling and said, “Honey, what’s the matter?” She looked at me with unfocused eyes, and I knew something was terribly wrong. It was the last time our eyes would meet before she slipped into a coma.

My mind was reeling. “This can’t be happening! It has to be a bad dream.” Today I realize that I had gone into shock to protect me from experiencing the full horror of the unfolding events.

An ambulance whisked her away in the night with its siren blaring. Once at the hospital the neurosurgeon displayed a CAT scan revealing a large, dark mass in each hemisphere of her brain. At age 51, and after almost 30 years of marriage, Marsha had suffered a catastrophic stroke. I asked the doctor for the prognosis and he replied, “Unless your wife undergoes surgery to relieve swelling in the brain, she’ll die in the next few hours.” Through my tears I asked him to do everything he could to save her. As the doctor left to scrub up, he said, “The next 72 hours will be critical. If there is no improvement by then, I suggest removing life support.”

Three days later the doctor told the family that Marsha’s condition wasn’t improving; in fact, she wasn’t breathing on her own. He ended by saying, “I did everything I could to save her. There’s nothing more I can do. I’m sorry.” I stood up, walked over to him, and put my hand on his shoulder. “Doctor,” I said, “I asked you to do everything you could to save her. You did what I asked. For some reason, God is calling her home. Thank you for all you have done.”

Later that night, after saying our goodbyes to Marsha, the doctor started detaching tubes and wires and turning off various machines. After listening for a heartbeat, he said quietly, “I’m sorry. She’s gone.” Her body was whisked away and we were left alone. There was nothing more to say; nothing more to do. We hugged each other, put on our coats, and left. Amidst my sorrow, I went home knowing that Marsha also was heading home to be with the Lord forever.

I was alone for the next nine years. But the Lord is a gracious God. In October, 2012, I married my second wife, Connie, a wonderful, godly Christian woman. God’s plan for my life wasn’t the one I expected, nor was it the one I would have chosen. But by faith I believe with all my heart that His plan is best.

During her lifetime Marsha’s calling – her divine assignment – was to encourage college students to walk faithfully with the Lord. I would often come home to find her talking with a group of young people. She would sit for hours listening to them and offering advice and support. Over 1,500 people attended her wake to pay their respects, some waiting outside the funeral home in a snow storm. A large number of mourners were the college students she had impacted.

After her death I found her among her papers the following statement: “My calling is to encourage young people to find hope and fulfillment in life.” Although she didn’t live to see her calling fulfilled, her legacy lives on in the lives she touched.

We buried Marsha’s body in a local cemetery and placed a tombstone on her grave. On the right-hand side is carved her name, date of birth, and date of death; but it’s what’s on the other side that catches my eye. The headstone is already inscribed with my name and my date of birth, followed by a dash. It’s a sobering reminder that sometime, someplace, and somehow I have an appointment with death.

Someday that gravestone will be engraved with my date of death. The chances are 100%. The real question is, “What will I do with my dash?” For that dash represents the time I have left on earth between today and the day I go home to be with the Lord. What will I do with the time that’s left? My goal is to live a life well-lived, the life God intended me to live. When I die I want to be able to say to Him, “I have brought you glory on earth, by completing the work you gave me to do.”1

Someday, you too will die. The chances are 100%. What will you do with your dash? You only have so much time left on earth. In fact, today is one day less than yesterday. There is an old saying, “Only one life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”2 What will you do to make your one and only life count for Christ?

ENDNOTES

1.John 17:4

2. From a poem by Charles Thomas Studd based on a quote from David Livingstone

This blog post © 2013 Designed to Serve®

An excerpt from the upcoming book Your One and Only Life, © 2013 Steven A. Lake. All Rights Reserved. May not be reprinted, reposted, photocopied, distributed or sold without the expressed written consent of the author.

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