It happened again....

Some of you may remember getting this email from me a few years ago. I still wonder about this man's family & friends and how they have been since this tragedy struck them.

Well today as I was on my way to work an ambulance passed me. I knew it was heading for Scott & White because the Seton Williamson County hospital will not be open until Thursday. True to my daily ritual, I ran my reports then headed down to the ER for my 1st cup of coffee. That's where my day changed.

As I was fixing my coffee I heard a woman scream, not necessarily unusual in an emergency room setting. Then I found out that the ambulance that passed me was carrying a 16yr old young lady and that she had apparently committed suicide and the screaming woman was her mother.

Today, similar to two years ago, I was rocked to the core.

What could possibly be going on in the life of a 16yr old that she would resort to such a permanent solution for whatever temporary problem/issue she was facing?

Then my mind inevitably questioned....Did she have a relationship with Christ? But then...I thought, doesn't suicide equate to the unforgivable sin against oneself, against Christ? Doesn't suicide forfeit your assurance of Heaven?

I would have to answer these question as No. Jesus says in Matthew 12:31 that “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men” except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

But if she was saved, how could someone who has the Spirit of God working in them get to such a level of discouragement that they would take their own life?

My mind is still swirling and it's hard to concentrate on my tasks this morning. I have prayed for this family and ask that you do the same.

Something happened today

This afternoon while going to lunch with a friend, we witnessed the tail end of a fatal car/pedestrian accident. Apparently a man from the building over from where my friend works crossed Hwy183 to get something to eat and on his way back to work stepped out into the street without looking and was hit by two cars one after the other.

We saw him lying in the street without knowing exactly what happened. It wasn't until I was dropping her off an hour later that we found out what had happened, that he had stepped out into the street and was initially hit by a pickup truck driven by an 18year old who didn't have a driver's license then hit again by someone driving an SUV. It wasn't until a couple of hours later that my friend called me and told me that she had heard on the radio that the gentleman, his name was Wayne, did not survive his injuries.

Then this evening I have been chatting with my brother in California, talking about my woes and how hard things have been for me lately when it dawned on me. I've heard it before, heard it being used as a cliche', even said it myself..."no one is promised tomorrow..." but never before had that phrase rocked so deeply in my core. Wayne had no idea this morning as he was getting ready for work that he would be dead before 1pm.

Did he have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Did he know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life? Did his loved ones? Will they see each other again in eternity?

All of these thoughts tumbled in my head as my conversation concluded with my brother and I was thankful for the knowledge that I know I will see my family again on the other side. But then I started thinking...will I see ALL of them? Will I see those who I have called my friends?

That thought lead to this email. I'm not really sure why I'm typing it, but I felt the overwhelming need to do so. To share with you my experience today and how it effected me and how it effects all of us as Christians.

There are those of you who I know on a personal & work level and those I know by association. Family, both intimate & external, by blood and in Christ. I am not passing judgement on anyone, just offering the same gift that was offered to me while I was a student at Huston - Tillotson by my friend & classmate Willie to someone out there who might not know Jesus as the pardon of their sins.