Life is Not Promised

Daily Meditation 893–8/10/2024

When I was a young man, there was a woman not much older than I — she was perhaps in her mid 20s. 27, 28 or so.

She had been in a relationship essentially with her high school sweetheart. He was a wild and crazy guy. Hilarious and personable. I distinctly remember him laughing “like a dolphin” to lighten the setting somewhere serious, once. He was in many ways a bit the opposite of her — quiet, bookish, and seemingly serious. But he made her laugh and laugh.

Well, his wild and crazy guy antics sadly put him 6 feet under very young. He had a offroading accident and was killed instantly. Riding without a helmet, the young man hit some sort of rut or rock, was thrown at full speed and his bare skull dashed against a great stone. Fortunately he did not suffer.

But it was such a horrific, leaden burden for such a young woman to bear. She and him had been together since they were maybe 18, had been married many years, and really enjoyed one another. What a waste.

All these years later, she is now well into her 40s and still alone, having not once went back to dating. If anything, she is quieter, more bookish, and serious…so serious without him that she is likely totally without laughter as he is no longer with her to make her laugh.