The Brevity of Life...

Our days are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone -- as though we had never been here. ~~ Psalm 103:15-16

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky.
It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy.

Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind. ~~ Kansas

10 years old and his life has been snuffed out. I'm sure that when he woke up yesterday morning he had no idea it would be his last. Yet, it was. Gone before lunch.

The little guy died about 25 yards from our front gate, hit by a truck. Thankfully, his death was fairly instant. He used to come to the Center some years ago, as one of our "street kids" -- the poorest of the poor. He didn't attend school because his father wanted him to work to help support the family.

When I saw him yesterday, less than 10 minutes after it happened, there was already a crowd of 40 or 50 people gathered around him, staring. Gawking. Traffic on the Central American highway had come to a crawl in both directions. Both his mother and his father had already arrived and the mother was alternating between sobbing and wailing uncontrollably, and blaming the father with words of "This is all your fault. YOU made him work."

I stood there feeling helpless. I wanted to go up and just hug the mother, but a female police officer was already doing that. Then the mom would break away and pummel the father, and go back to the arms of the police officer. I could pray, and I did. I asked God to comfort the parents. I asked Him to somehow turn this into something good, for His Name's sake.

It's a scene that's all too common here, but for me, this was the first time I've witnessed it literally on our doorstep.

Sandi had, mercifully, run to our warehouse and grabbed a sheet to cover his small body. She told me that if she hadn't done this, he would have been lying there in the street, uncovered, for hours until the forensic police arrived and said the body could be removed.

When the father bent down to remove the sheet and look at him once again, the crowds pressed in closer for another glimpse. The mood grew very tense, as the mother did not want this to happen. I actually took a few steps back, sensing that it would only take the wrong thing to be said and then things could actually get violent. As the crowd drew back, satisfied in once more seeing this little guy lying there dead, being part of what's going on, having more to discuss with others later in the day, I saw his tiny arm and hand laying on the ground. It almost looked as if he were sleeping, but I knew differently. The blood all around him was bright red, and already thick from the hot sun.

With a few others, I turned around to go back through our gate. And I prayed.

Most of last night I thought about the brevity of life. How short it is. I wondered about this little guy and if He knew the Lord. I thought about how important it is to make the most out of every day because none of us know if it will be our last.

And I prayed: Lord, let my life count. Not for me, but for You and Your Kingdom.

But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children's children.

Praise the Lord, everything He has created, everything in all His kingdom... Let all that I am praise the Lord. ~~ Psalm 103:17, 22