About a month ago I was driving down the interstate one morning and something in the road caused me and several other cars to slow down to avoid hitting it. The utility truck behind me didn’t see any of this happening and kept going, crushing my trunk like an accordion and spinning me around. The impact pushed me forward and back pushing my seat to the back seat. The car was totaled, but thankfully I wasn’t. It jarred my brain around (now I have an excuse!). The paramedics at the scene of the accident said they’d seen a lot less damage and the driver not make it out alive.

A few weeks later, I got the expected call that my Grandpa Shuler was near death. We’ve been watching him die very slowly over the last few years. In fact, the doctor thought he was going to die on our wedding day. He was in so much pain and misery that I was ready for him to die. I hated watching him suffer. But when the call came, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to let him go over the next few days of visitation, and the 2 funerals, and even now. My grandpa was a preacher—a fire and brimstone preacher. He might greet you with a smile when you walk through the church doors, but he would let ‘er rip when he got behind the pulpit. He was preaching when I got saved and a few years later baptized me. I often wonder if it hadn’t been for his walk with God, if I would have come to know the Lord.

Anyway, all of this has made me take a look at how fragile life is. We need to make the most of every moment. We need to spend time with our families. We need to help those in need. We need to minister to those we come in contact with. We need to love.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when family and friends get together who don’t see each other the rest of the year. Make the most of that time (I’m preaching to myself too). Spend some good quality time with that uncle or cousin who you normally want to avoid during these gatherings. Notice the people around you. There are a lot of hurting people whose day would be brighter with just a smile from you.