LIFE IS FRAGILE

This morning I (Russell) opened the bathroom window a few inches while getting ready for church.  Around 9 AM I heard the bells from a couple church buildings nearby.  I recalled how much I had loved to hear them each Sunday morning when we first got here.  They are still as wonderful as they were last spring but perhaps I have grown accustomed to them and almost take them for granted.

Last night we had dinner with another senior missionary couple, Tom and Ruth Rich.  Elder Rich is serving as the Europe Area Auditor.  Tom and I were both partners with Deloitte in Salt Lake City, so we have known the Richs for a long time.  Early in January Elder Rich was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and was hospitalized for two weeks.  For a time his outcome was uncertain.  About one in six of those who have bacterial meningitis do not survive.  Due to the Lord’s help, many prayers on his behalf and good care from the German health system he is now on his way to a full recovery. 

During January a senior missionary serving within the Europe Area died suddenly of an aneurysm.  Elder Rich had been with this Elder who passed away just recently training him on audit procedures.  Tom commented to me last night how odd it feels knowing that it could have just as easily been him who had passed away last month.  Why one missionary recovered and another passed away leads one to contemplate the fragility of life.

As I thought about Elder Rich and this other missionary who passed away, it reminded me of when Eileen was pregnant with Jessica.  Early in the pregnancy she developed a large blood clot in her iliac vein.  Upon it’s detection she was immediately hospitalized.  Eileen’s situation was serious enough that her doctor felt he had to at least pose the possibility of terminating the pregnancy in order to help her chances of survival.  Around this same time we had a neighbor who had returned from an athletic activity late at night, sat down to watch television and choked to death on snack foods.  I remember Eileen expressing thoughts similar to Tom’s, of how easily it could have been her that passed away rather than this healthy young father.

I think all too often I treat lightly close relationships and blessings which I have grown accustomed to.  Just like the wonderful sound of the church bells this morning, I don’t appreciate enough my wife and missionary companion, and other family members.  I have been very blessed by God with a loving family and many other blessings, both temporal and spiritual, that I need guard against taking for granted and assuming they will always be with me.