By Pastor Randy Booth
We had a genuine scare last Sunday. Let me begin by assuring you that this story has a very happy ending. But in the moment, we had no way of knowing that.
Just before breakfast, while staying in the home of some friends, my wife, Marinell, said she felt faint and sat down on a bench in the living room. Suddenly, our friend exclaimed, “She’s having a seizure!” I immediately rushed to her side as she lost consciousness and appeared to stop breathing. For a few terrifying seconds—which seemed much longer—I thought, “She’s gone!” I called for help to get her onto the floor so I could begin CPR. But just then, she began to awaken. What an overwhelming relief!
After a long ambulance ride, a hospital stay, and numerous tests, the doctors could find no clear explanation for the sudden drop in her blood pressure and heart rate. Thankfully, she soon began feeling much better, and we were able to return home the following day.
It was only after arriving home and unpacking that we discovered what had apparently happened. She had accidentally taken my morning medications instead of her own. Since I am a heart patient, my medications include some powerful blood pressure drugs. We were relieved to have discovered what seemed to be the explanation for this frightening episode.
But the point of this post is not simply that Marinell woke up. It is that I received a wake-up call of my own.
I have always been grateful to God for my wife. After more than fifty-two years of marriage, I have countless reasons to give thanks for her. But those few terrifying seconds, when I thought I might be losing her, awakened in me an even deeper appreciation for the precious gift God has given me.
The ride home was especially sweet. The ordinary pleasure of being together seemed extraordinary. It was good to hold her in my arms again, to feel her warm touch, to hear her voice, and simply to know that she was still beside me. These are blessings we can so easily take for granted—until, suddenly, we are confronted with the possibility of losing them.
I know that a day of separation will eventually come, as it does for all of us. One of us will have to say goodbye to the other. That is a sobering thought, but it is not a hopeless one. For we have been given the glorious promise of the resurrection. Death does not have the final word. In Christ, even the sorrow of our earthly parting is overshadowed by the certainty of everlasting life. Regardless of which of us goes first, we have the promise of a joyful reunion and a restored, eternal communion in Christ. Thanks be to God!
In the meantime, I have been reminded once again to cherish the days God gives us, to treasure the people He has placed in our lives, and to give thanks for mercies both extraordinary and ordinary. Thanks be to God!