Death, because of my job, becomes almost routine at times. Working in hospice provides a lot of opportunity to accompany people during their last days. Ninety-nine percent of the people I interact with are older adults - or at least people that have lived past 70. On occasion, we help people who would be considered "young".....all the way down to less than a year old.
I really hadn't expected to write on this topic tonight. Thoughts and different themes were on my mind all day but that all changed this evening when I got the news that a student who I had taught had died. I hadn't just taught him, I had spent a week at a summer camp as a speaker and this kid had been there and was in my class the following year. Sadly, this isn't the first time I have dealt with the death of former students. Reflecting, I can't actually remember how many there have been - whether they were kids I had in class or coached.
It is one thing for me to accompany parents and loved ones as they experience the death of a child when I am not connected to the situation. I've been with families experiencing everything from fetal demises to watching their baby, adolescent, teen, or young adult die right on the ER trauma room table. None of it is easy. However, their is a different kind of pain in my heart when I hear of the death a child that I have been connected to in some way. Only once, so far, have I been called in to help a family only to find out that the person near death was someone I coached.
Teach us to number our days......
I often think how close I came to having my own ticket punched as a freshman in high school. Yep - that is me at the top as a 9th grader. The football picture (#13) is about a week before I was severely injured. As I was tackled my spleen ruptured. However, this wasn't discovered until around 6 hours later. That is 6 hours of bleeding internally. That is not good. Looking back at the timing of the events of that day it is remarkable that I am still here. I got hit at probably about 4:30 pm. Went home, showered, and went to bed with what I thought were just sore ribs or bruised abdomen. However, as the evening went on, the pain increased so my parents decided to take me to the ER. As good timing would have it, I arrived just before a heart attack patient so guess who got priority. A couple of hours later I was literally writhing in pain. After being examined the doctor decided that I probably bruised some organs and was going to send me home. Before discharge however I went into shock because of all the internal bleeding and the poked a little hole directly under my belly button and blood shot out. Don't really remember that part but my dad said afterwards, "I thought we had lost you at that point." Emergency surgery, no more spleen, 23 staples up my gut, and a week in the hospital. Literally, a life-saving procedure.
A good friend of mine once said in the context of being ready to die at any time - "If I'm not ready to see Jesus today, what makes me think I will be ready any time in the future?" That makes a lot of sense to me and I have often thought about those words. It gives me pause to remember that our life here, no matter how long or short by earthly time standards, is a breath compared to eternity. A blip, dot, smidgen.
That is one reason why I like the song that is out now called If I Die Young by The Band Perry. It talks about any amount of time we are given is enough with the proper perspective. Part of the chorus goes:
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time
Jace Watts - It was a pleasure to know you. May we worship together again someday.
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