The Times I Almost Died

The Times I Almost Died

There are those rare occasions when we end up thinking to ourselves, “Whew, that was close!” Most of us have had one or two such moments. As for me, I can think of at least four of those times:  One dicey health scare, and three driving incidents. And in each of the driving ones I was completely surprised and not at fault. The point is that no matter how careful we may be, things just happen, and they are often beyond our control. If we’re fortunate, they turn out to be near misses. When they are, we can be left wondering, “How did that happen?” Yet, with the way my heart and mind work, I’m more likely to ask, “Why didn’t that happen?” Why indeed. And here’s where your world view makes all the difference, because I happen to believe that there is a God who cares about us and has a plan to work things for good. Following that train of thought, if I’ve lived though all those close calls then I’m just assuming that God’s not done with me yet. In fact, I’m pretty sure that once God is done with us, we assume room temperature. So if I’m still here after all those close then I have to believe that I’m here for a purpose, that I should live in such a way as to be available for discovering and fulfilling that purpose. I may not know for certain what it is just yet, but I can still be inclining my heart and life towards God in order to be open to fulfilling it. Sure, I almost died a few times … but I didn’t. So I’m going to make the most of this extra gift of life God bestowed on me … on multiple occasions. Ever wonder why you’re also still here too. Apparently, God has a plan for each of us. Let’s go live it.

The Times I Almost Died

Jesus, why have you kept me here?

When you could have done otherwise

When I swerved too close to disaster

To danger and compromise

When the tires began to lose traction

Or the lines on the EKG

Dragged me to the edge of oblivion

Lord, why did you rescue me?

I can only conclude, my God

That you had other plans in store

That I still wake up every day

Since I was meant for something more

So Lord I offer up my life

And open up my heart

To whatever plan you have for me

I’m ready for it to start

Use me as your instrument

Sweep away my fear and pride

And do whatever you saved me for

On those times I almost died

           By Frank Carpenter ©