A few weeks ago I was on my way to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet them. We were going to ride together to church in New Jersey. I turned off the main thoroughfare of Stenton Avenue on to Ivy Hill Road. The road comes to a T where one has to make a left or right turn. What makes it necessary to go left or right is the immense Ivy Hill cemetery. As I was waiting at the red light I looked at the row of headstones and the stately mausoleums. The thought came to me that at the end of everyone's earthly road this is what awaits us. We will all have a face to face meeting with death. However it is while we are alive that we make the decision on which direction to go when we meet eternity.
It was a sobering thought. I pass these silent sentinels, witnesses of my mortality frequently in Philadelphia. This is an old city. Graveyards are ubiquitous. They remind us that our earthly journeys are short compared to going to our long homes which are forever. Yet some of us spend more time contemplating what we are going to wear or what we are going to eat than our eternal destination.
Yesterday my heart was deeply saddened to see the news report of three young people, two of whom had just finished participating in Philadelphia's 2019 colorful Mummers' Day Parade. On their way home they were tragically and instantly killed in a car accident when another driver crossed the line and hit their sports vehicle. Twenty six hours into the New Year they were immediately gone.
I am thinking of the late Stephen Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. The first habit is to "Begin with the End in Mind" This is January, traditionally a time for new beginnings. I can begin again with the "..End in Mind." My question to you and to myself is, "Am I sure that I know what the next step is when I face that end of life's road" I feel certain I can answer in the affirmative. Can You?
".. people are destined to die once,.."
Hebrews 9:27
P.S. If you would like to know my plans you can ask in the comments section of this blog or contact me at panewton12@comcast.net
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