It was raining this morning when I woke up. I sat and talked to my mom about the recent, sudden death of my grandma, her mom, just 3 weeks ago. I hopped in the shower before taking my new suit that I needed for a wedding to a nearby seamstress's home in Syracuse. I carried the suit in, we became acquainted, and I put the suit on only to find that my un-hemmed pants were literally 4 inches too short...not a big deal, but it got me thinking on the way home.
Sometimes life just happens. We can plan, prepare, and perspire all you want, but so often we're left asking, "Really? Did that just happen?" You can think you're on some ordinary errand to get your pants hemmed only to find out you're going to have to spend the next week chasing down a properly manufactured pair of trousers ("pants" are undergarments in Ireland). A simple, unobtrusive example of how life seems to alter its course when we least expect it...
The death of my Grandma has had me thinking often about how I live each day. She was on her way to a graduation open house, simply seeking to encourage and love a graduating senior girl and her family, when she was struck by a car. She was gone in a moment. We weren't "prepared" for this. Grandma wasn't prepared for this...or was she? Can we be prepared for the unexpected that life brings?
I believe Grandma was, because, more than about any person I've ever known, Grandma lived each day as though it were her last. I believe I've heard a quote something like: "Never save for tomorrow something you can/should do today." That's how Grandma Theda lived. And, because of Grandma's obvious and surrendered faith in Jesus Christ's ability to save and redeem, she was living with hope, purpose, and a fueled determination.
So, while Grandma had no idea what was going to happen to her on June 5 (none of us could have), she was, in the most important ways, prepared. And, for those of us left to mourn and grieve, we must seek to live life "prepared" for the things that no can really prepare for because, sometimes, life just happens.
