Life is Fragile

2010 June 23

by Tyler

I was heading from the church to a meeting with Kurt yesterday afternoon just after 3:30pm. Outside the church’s parking lot it was pretty obvious an accident had occurred a few minutes before because cars were stopped all over the place and there were a few cops trying to control traffic. As we pulled up to the stop light near the accident I looked around at the damage of the 2 vehicles. 1 SUV had a badly damaged front and the other car was totaled from the collision on the driver’s side (news article on the accident).

And then both me and Kurt at the same time realized there was a lady in the driver’s seat, and she was dead. She wasn’t covered up because paramedics had not arrived on the scene yet. Our car went silent. We didn’t say a word for a few minutes. Even a day later, I can’t get her face out of my head.

It isn’t everyday in Portland that you see a dead body that was alive only minutes before. It was a swift reminder that my struggles in life are minuscule. It was the fact that I was alive that was the blessing.

Shortly after the accident the police closed off the major intersection and off-ramp where the accident had occurred. And as you can guess, gridlock came quickly since the accident happened right during rush hour traffic. Hours later as I drove home from work there was still gridlock traffic on the highways and back streets.

Amazing how one accident and one taken life can affect so many others, even if only in a small way.

I can’t help but wonder if it is God’s reminder to us that life is fragile and life is interconnected.

We live in our closed-off cars and our fenced-in yards.

But maybe we’re a lot more connected than we think.

After all, our lives are His, not ours.

Filed under: the rest...

http://www.belovedspear.org Beloved Spear

Death is something we experience so infrequently in our culture. It’s hidden away. Closed off. Fenced in. Forgotten. Which is odd, given that it awaits all of us.

One of the blessings of being a pastor…and this may seem strange…is that I’ve had the honor of being with people as they’ve died. It’s a powerful reminder of our fragility, yes, but also of how deep our connections go.
http://www.gritandglory.com alece

my heart fell silent when i saw your tweet yesterday… and feel the same way now reading your post.

maybe this sounds odd, but… i appreciate how deeply you care. how deeply you felt, and are still feeling, what you experienced. hang onto that, even though it means deep hurt at times.
http://www.contentunderpressure.net Josh

I totally related to this post.

My senior prom date died in a motorcycle accident in L.A. in April, and I saw the whole thing happening from the news helicopter online. I remember thinking about all the people who would not pay the story any attention, just like I had before when hearing of other deaths. But not this one. I know her. I know her family. Her story. I could see the pain behind this loss. I want to feel that for everyone.

Sounds like you felt it for this woman. I say hang on to that with all you’ve got. You’re character (and others) will benefit greatly from it.
http://www.aworshipfulheart.typepad.com Jan Owen

Tyler, I had a similar incident occur a few years ago except I barely escaped being a fatality as well. I was not allowed to leave the scene so I spent an hour standing 10 feet from the body of the man that was thrown out of the car that almost hit me. I could barely drive myself home. To this day I have issues with ambulances and when I think a car is going to pull out in front of me I sometimes involuntarily jerk. It messed me up in so many more ways emotionally though.

Life IS fragile and I think we put that out of our minds because we can’t handle staring at that truth every moment of every day. When we come face to face with it, it brings sobriety to our hearts in an instant. In facing another’s mortality, we face our own. And that makes the person who has left this life a real person. Not a statistic. Not a news story. But a real live, loved person. And that is what makes us weep………

Some will tell you to forget it – to put it out of your mind so it so you don’t dwell on it. I say keep the image in your heart.
shellie (baylormum)

Today’s topic at my 12-step meeting? Tolerance. I wonder how many people drove through that gridlock thinking what an inconvenience the accident was in their day! When self acts, then impatience abounds. No care about the fact there was a death. Someone’s daughter, sister, mom, wife. How dare they cause a gridlock.

Life is fragile! Be grateful for life every minute! Life happens in a blink! Don’t waste energy on impatience.
http://www.nicolewick.com @nicolewick

Tyler, what a great reminder of the delicate balance we live in. I think I still take it for granted. But, really it’s all so temporal, isn’t it. Powerful words. Powerful experience. Thank you for sharing it.
http://www.frenzy-tracy.blogspot.com tracy

Wow, yes, a great reminder that life is fragile! This week a 28 yr old police officer lost his life in CA. (he used to be in our youth group) and last night my son was in a car accident! He walked away, unscratched! Praising GOD but again, realizing LIFE IS FRAGILE! Live each day to the fullest!