Friday morning, March 8, 2002, began like any other morning.  I got up, fixed and ate my cereal, and started on my coffee.  Suddenly, with no warning, I began to have very sharp pains in my stomach.  Then I became nauseated, and started to lose my food.  Four hours later, when the pain and nausea had not stopped, Pat drove me to the hospital.  I was better by that evening, but had to spend two nights in the hospital so they could try to determine what was wrong.  The best guess is that I had a touch of food poisoning.  Whatever it was, I recovered and was back to normal in a couple of weeks.

    Since that experience, I have reflected often on how quickly life can change.  I had my day all planned.  The weekend was set.  I knew what I was going to preach on Sunday.  But suddenly everything changed.  I was no longer able to manage, and life began to spiral out of control.  All I could do was pray and hope for the best.

    There have been other such times.  The June morning in 1993 when Pat told me she had found a lump in her breast, stands out as one of the worst.  We were going to leave on vacation that very day.  But suddenly, our plans were changed. The next three months were a whirlwind of tests, surgery and recovery.  And life has never been the same.

    Things other than unexpected health problems can suddenly change our lives.  The terrorist attacks last September 11, and the sudden collapse of Enron are two that come to mind.  Life is uncertain.  It can change quickly, unexpectedly, and forever.

    I am a planner.  I make lists of things to do.  I keep a fairly detailed calendar, and note items as far in advance as possible.  I like to know what is coming, so I can make proper preparation.  And most of the time, things work out about like I plan them.  In fact, planning and preparation help things happen.  I don’t expect I will change the way I plan things.  But I am more and more aware that the plans I make may not come to pass.

    This realization has helped me to focus more on what is important to me.  Time is short and life is uncertain.  Opportunities may be gone much sooner than expected.  There is so much that I want to do, but I move so much slower than I once did.  I won’t have time to do everything I would like to do.  So every day becomes a challenge to find and follow God’s leadership for that day.

    Walking with God each day keeps “suddenly” from being tragic.