We usually take the important things in life for granted until tragedy strikes. Many years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night because something did not feel right. I got up and checked on my son, and he was fine. I was walking back to bed when the phone rang. It was a 3:00-o’clock-in-the-morning-something-is-wrong kind of phone call.
My brother-in-law was calling me with devastating news: my identical twin sister had been in a car wreck and was in critical condition. Her injuries were so severe she had to be helicoptered to the trauma center in San Antonio. I fell to my knees disbelieving the news. Two hours later I rushed to San Antonio.
When I finally got there, I went straight to the emergency room. There I saw someone I had loved all my life on the verge of death. My twin sister’s body was broken and she was in intense pain. I asked the doctor if she was going to live, and he replied, “I don’t know.”
All pretense of security in my life vanished. The family, the health and the comforts of this world are all gifts that God has given me, and I deserve none of them. Life is so precious and I couldn’t believe how much I have taken it for granted.
My sister did live and underwent many months of rehabilitation. She maintains several large scars, a metal hip and some nerve pain as evidence of her near-death accident. I will never take her for granted again. In fact, I no longer take anything precious to me for granted.
I thank God for allowing me to be a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter and a friend every single day. The important things in life take a lot of work, but that work is a privilege.
Memory Verse:
“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
-Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Lord, please help me not to take the important things in life for granted. Help me to work hard at relationships, my health, my work and my walk in Christ. Please help me in the areas that I have been faltering, especially in the areas of . . .”
Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner
Faith Imagined
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