While on the way to my parent’s house I witnessed a horrible car accident on the bridge.

I didn’t actually see it happen but as I was driving over the bridge I remember seeing a huge dump truck and some other cars ahead of me.

Next thing I knew, there was a smog of smoke and cars coming to a stand still.

I remember thinking, Wow, was that just a car accident? A split second later it was obvious.

I was less than a football field away, was able to move over into the far right lane and bypass the accident.

As I went by, it looked bad. Real bad. And I immediately started praying for the poor man I had seen slumped over in the driver’s seat, not moving.

I automatically reached for my cellphone to dial 911 but then looked back in my rear view mirror and saw cars already stopping to help and figured someone who was actually there at the scene would be able to describe better to the dispatcher more of what was going on than me.

And then I started thinking about that poor man’s family. And how he got in his car that morning (it was around 10:15am) and was headed somewhere, never suspecting he wouldn’t make it to the other side of the bridge.

I got to thinking about his family members who would soon start receiving phone calls saying their loved one had been in a car accident. They didn’t wake up that morning expecting that phone call.

I was thinking about the motionless man slumped over in his car. I wondered if he knew Jesus, should he not survive the accident.

And then I got to thinking just how short life really is.

Driving over a bridge one moment and the next moment laying lifeless in a car because of a horrible car accident.

Life is so short and can literally change in the blink of an eye.

When the 5pm news came on that afternoon we turned the TV on and learned the 70-year-old man had been life flighted to a local hospital where he later died.

I remember saying out loud, “Oh, man. He died. He died.”

It really disturbed me and, even more so, made me realize just how short life is and how precious each and every day we are given is.

God’s word tells us life is like a vapor. We are here today and gone tomorrow. And even if we do live 70 years or more, those 70 years are a blink of the eye compared to eternity.

Makes me stop and think about this life’s trials. They really are just temporary. We are just passing through. We have one life to live for Jesus. One opportunity to share with others the good news of Jesus Christ and that there is something more beyond living life here on Earth.

Seeing a man lose his life right before my eyes really puts things into perspective.

Hug your family tight, tell your loved ones you love them. Open your mouth and tell someone about Jesus! Put your focus on what really matters in this lifetime.

Live everyday as if it was your last.

Because it very well could be.

- Elaine