This past weekend Dawana Browne, wife of a member of our small racquetball family, passed away quickly and unexpectedly. My thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, Scott, their two young daughters, and their families and friends.

Part of what hit me immediately when I heard the news was how vibrant and full of life Dawana was and how could it be that she could be taken so unexpectedly. She was but 43, with two young daughters (10 and 7). As my head spun when I heard the news, denying this could have happened, selfishly and eventually I thought of my own mortality and how quickly even my own life here could end. Death seems to do that. In health or in sickness, the fact is that our time here, whether a day, or Dawana’s 43 years, or 100 years, is to be fleeting, but our time with Him, should we accept Him into our hearts, will span eternity. Death reminds me of the urgency of the work I am to do here. The context of these words from 2 Samuel are a bit different, but the truthfulness of them hit home this morning:

“Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires.”
–2 Samuel 14:14

Ours is a broken world, of which death was never welcome. With the time that we have here may we be a blessing to those around us.  I am reminded this morning of these words –

“I shall pass through this world but once.
Any good, therefore, that I can show to any human being, let me do it now.
Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
–Stephen Grellet

Dawana’s persistent smile and lively spirit will not be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to have encountered her.