My vision is crystal clear... is your's?
Bug Bug will have glasses in a matter of days... she will be able to see clearly in a short while. But something happened Monday that improved my vision completely.
2006 roared in like a lion as 2005 went out like a lamb. Without question, it has been the saddest start to a new year that I have ever had. Monday, January 2nd... 3 of our international students were killed in a car accident. My last few days have been consumed by avoiding the press like the plague... I have been talking with relatives.... insurance companies... funeral homes... trying to catch up from the 2 weeks of emails that I needed to reply to... calling the students' parents, offerring our condolences from the university. I met two of the students' parents when I was in their home country...they are so distraught right now. I was just talking with them about 2 months ago in the Hotel Del Annapurna's lobby... one set of parents was beaming about their son and the promising future he had ahead of him. Yesterday I was on the phone with them and all his father could say was, "Ben, .... I lost my son! I lost my son Ben!" He was sobbing uncontrollably and it was by far one of the saddest things I have ever had to do. Can the year start out any worse?? I think not. It is such a sad deal. None of them were wearing their seatbelts in the back seat. The two girls were thrown from the car and were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The young man was airlifted to Minneapolis and died in the air.
Talk about bringing life into clear focus. You think you have your whole life ahead of you and "bam" (pardon the phrase)... your life is gone. Not that I am ancient... but young people think they are going to live forever... or for a long time at least... as you approach the final years of life... one can't help but know that the end is near... (No, Katie... I am not approaching my "final years" but my dad has mentioned this to me on more than one occasion.) This whole accident has been a painful reminder that you need to live life with an eternal perspective. If you live life in light of eterninty, then you can't help but keep the proper perspective. In reality, we only have a season that we are here and then... in a moment we are gone. Make sure that what you do counts. Are you consumed by your own desires or is everything you do done for the glory of God? How you spend your days is how you spend your life... if you are spending your days on trival things then your life has essentially become... well.... trivial. If are you making a difference by serving God in various ministry opportunities or reaching others for Christ... then that is how you are spending your life. Challenging thought.
You are only here for a moment... make it count.
posted by Greg at 9:20 PM
12 Comments:
I'm so sorry for what you and the students' families are going through. As difficult as it is to lose a child, I imagine it's far more difficult when they're half a world away.
Thanks for the post and for reminding us what's truly important in life.
10:30 PM
That is so sad, and it makes my problems seem so small.
Time and time again we are reminded of how short our time here on earth is.
I hope that when I leave this world, I leave behind a legacy of love and evangelism.
10:46 PM
I am so very sorry to hear of this tragedy. God bless all of you during this time of mourning.
Thanks also for sharing your thoughts. We all need to be reminded of this, and need to remember to be bold for Christ so that when our loved ones' time is up, they are not lost.
7:17 AM
Oh Ben, I'm so sorry that you have to endure this!
But in light of the situation that you've been faced with, your attitude, your perspective is amazing! I thank you for shedding such a positive light on such a dark subject.
I'll be praying for you and the victim's families that the Lord will comfort your hearts and give you strength to endure this trying time.
Phil 4:6,7
11:07 AM
Ben,
I'm glad you aren't contemplating the end of your life, because I want to meet you in person at least once before God calls you home.
I hurt for you that you have had to endure this pain and sorrow. What a comfort you are to the rest to the international community at your school and to those families. How amazing is our God that He knew what would occur and presented you the opportunity to establish a relationship with these families that you might be a comfort to them in this tragedy.
I'll pray for them, for the other students touched by this, and mostly for you because you bear a burden that is not easy to carry yet you carry it with faith and wisdom.
2:46 PM
Being that I have recently had a "Come to Jesus" with my own personal health I have been faced with the thought of life passing.
I am so so sorry to hear about the students that were in the accident. My heart goes out to their families.
Take care. May God give you the words to say as you consol these grieving parents.
10:19 PM
Prayers coming for all y'all.
9:44 AM
Praying for you, Ben. That must be very difficult to deal with. Thank you for the reminder of the eternal perspective. Our days on this earth really are like a vapor.
10:23 AM
Wow. Deep post. I almost got teary when that boys dad said, "I lost my son!" I can only imagine the grief and the pain - what a nightmare.
It does put things into perspective though.
11:00 AM
oh, sad. that makes me so very, very sad. and in a twisted way, curious to hear the details of the accident.
may God calm your heart and give you the words to speak to those affected.
3:15 PM
my prayers are with you guys, especially teh families. Take care
4:05 PM
Thank you for another reminder of how precious and fleeting life is.
5:19 PM
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