Monday afternoon Tristie received a call that her uncle, Darryl Sartwell, had died. Like so many things in this present earthly existence, it was unexpected. I expected to go to work on Thursday morning. I expected to take our son to soccer practice Thursday afternoon, enjoy a day at home on Friday and then preach on Saturday evening and Sunday morning (I had a great sermon in the works, by the way). Instead we are packing for Oklahoma, and I am working on a memorial service message instead of a sermon.

As I finish composing my thoughts for Uncle Darryl's memorial service, I am reminded how unpredictable life is... and in a sense how utterly predictable life should be. We call his death "unexpected" because he did not have any life-threatening illnesses of which we were aware. In reality, however, his death should have been expected. So should yours and so should mine. The only unpredictable element in death is the timing.

If we, Darryl's family, were surprised by his passing, how much more surprised was Darryl - a sudden, sharp pain in his chest... and then face to face with the Almighty Creator and King of the Universe. Even now I am trying to imagine how shocking that will be for me. In God's grace, Darryl was prepared for this inevitable, completely predictable encounter. Are you? Is your family? Are your friends? When I pause to consider that my own earthly existence is as fragile as Darryl's, I find myself gripped by a new sense of urgency about my own life and the destiny of those around me. As Solomon reminds us, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart." Ecclesiastes 7:2

Please pray for Tristie's extended family as they grieve, and please pray for our immediate family as we seek to minister the comfort and hope of our Savior, Jesus Christ.