Is there a hurry?

This morning a heavy shroud of mist sat on the mountain, dumping heavy dewoff of the gum leaves onto my head and back as I made my way along a running trail. It provided a stark representation of the weight sitting on my spiritual being at the moment. Three days, three impacts of death. None of them particularly close, but close enough to wonder why and when.

On the way to the Australian Open Tennis on Saturday we passed a body of a cyclist on the roadway, the victim of a hit and run. Covered in a plastic sheet, feet protruding with cycling shoes attached, the milling of emergency services personnel around the scene caused traffic to slow. Later in the day we would hear that the driver at fault had turned himself into
police after initially fleeing the scene, a fact of interest but unknown to a 32 year old now set loose into eternity, reaching a destination far from his intended end point to that which he contemplated as he strapped into his pedals that morning.

It was a record day for any Grand Slam event ever at the tennis with over sixty thousand attending. As we managed to cram into the back row of the stadium, securing seats before the first game I gazed around at the "special" people in their "special" boxes, secure behind a glass screen in their "specially" designated lounge chairs. As I ate my snacks, hastily thrown into a bag on the way out the door that morning, I thought of the "special" people, eating their special" food, with "special" service - no half hour queues for a carton of overpriced animal fat and second rate potatoes for them. Then I thought as Christians how we can sit in our own "special" boxes, enjoying the privilege and security of eternity without a thought for the sea of faces in the stands below, not caring about inviting the "less" worthy into our sphere - because they have not paid the price, or it would inconvenience us to share, or they might actually demand more
of us than we are willing to give.

But what if this is the last tennis match they ever have the opportunity to see, they might not have another chance to enter the world of the "special' people again. What if they do not make it to the game because they get knocked off their bike?

Yes, there is a hurry.
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Last night James and I caught up on the phone. He asked if I remembered a mutual friend. He went to the doctor in September, was asked what he planned to do between then and Christmas. She shook her head and told him to forget about work. He passed away from cancer on Christmas Eve at age thirty four. A picture of success - mega bucks, globe trotting, important roles in international organisations - passed onto eternity. He got things right with God, came back to the reality of his faith.

Wonder if there were regrets for lost time.

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Luke 12:16-23.

Yes, there is a hurry.
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I wanted to call Kel this morning to see if the Pest Controller had arrived, but she called me first. We had seen wild summer storms lashing the northern states on the news last night. A canyoning party had to be rescued in the Blue Mountains due to flash flooding. One man was still unaccounted for after being washed away. Police hold grave fears for his life. It is more than likely that they will only find a body. Kel had received a call to let her know that he was a class mate of ours from College. Nice guy, not real close but friendly enough to catch up with when
I was on course with him last year. We can only pray for the best and prepare for the worst.

Yes - there is a hurry.
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