Through the refiners fire....

"Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us." Ecclesiastes 7:3

Life is short...only God knows the number of days we have on this earth. That thought was on my mind today, so I started looking in the Bible, because I knew God would have something to say about it. That is how I came to the verse in Ecclesiastes.

Yesterday, a young man was killed by a drunk driver. This man in the car happened to be a rookie with the Anaheim Angels baseball team. He was twenty-two years old, and had just pitched his first major league game the night before. They say that he pitched a fantastic game, there was a bright future waiting for this young man. It all ended in a moment. My heart goes out to all of the families involved, there were two other people in the car who also lost their lives. With one more seriously injured, who is now in the hospital.

With their loss, I am reminded that God does not promise us a certain number of days. With that thought, I wonder...am I using my days wisely? Fulfilling my role God has planned for me? Do I have time to sit back and let opportunities pass me by, because I think I will have another chance?

It scares me to think of chances that may have passed me by. That is my prayer for myself, and for all of us. That we take the opportunities that God presents to us and to not put off what we know is good.