The way I see it, death is only a moment away and it augers well for us to live lives that are meaningful and Christ centered.
It was on Wednesday 19th June, I was in my office, having a brief discussion with my staff, when suddenly, the entire building shook violently.
It stopped as suddenly as it started.
‘It’s an earthquake,’ I managed in a hoarse voice.
It certainly caught me off guard. I did not even have the chance to say ‘Lord have mercy,’ much less to DROP, COVER, NOR HOLD ON!’
You know, the way it seemed, it was like a huge giant had just seized the building with his hands and given it one severe shaking.
Now, I had already heard that there were similar occurrences in Trinidad, earlier in the week, but hardly paid it any mind—after all, that was Trinidad.
Well I newa!
Now I was rudely shaken into the reality that earthquakes were not reserved for Trinidad but they can hit home here as well, even when we are more focused on preparing for hurricanes.
And so, the sober reality set in. It could have been worse.
We could have died.
Were we ready to die?
Just this week, we also lost a young man, who many considered one of Nevis’ most daring and finest Motorcyclists.
Let me quickly say sincerest condolences to the family but you already know how I feel about motorbikes…..
He must have had many plans for his immediate and distant future.
A family man who will not see his children graduate.
Sad…so sad.
So how prepared are we to die?
I remember hearing one of my favourite Pastors, Pastor Roosevelt Daniel, speak of his experience in Montserrat, when the volcano blew.
He said something that I will never forget.
He stated that when the volcano blew and everyone was panicking, when they realized what was going on, that that was not the time to pray.
Prayer time should have already been a part of the psyche and should have been done before.
When people are in panic mode, the last thing on most of their minds, is to pray.
I understand that when the Christena went down, there were a few Nuns who started to pray but their prayers were hardly audible, as a lot of persons resorted to swear words, as everyone tried to get off the boat, to save themselves.
So, it follows therefore, that we cannot wait until there is a pending disaster to seek to make a connection with God and even if we manage the ‘Lord have mercy’ thing, God knows our hearts and he would know who is serious with him and who is not.
Did you ever hear the story about these two guys in the boat that started to sink and one of them started to pray and he said: ‘God, if you save us, we will give away all the fish to our fellow villagers; we will give half of our life savings to the needy and we will go to church every week.
The other guy said ’Bwoy you can’t make them kind ah promises.’
The prayerful man responded: ‘Bwoy hush, he aint know me aint mean it!’
So hey, we can’t fool God and we better start preparing now to live lives to please him, or one day, too late will be our cry.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?
The Way I See It
The way I see it, death is only a moment away and it augers well for us to live lives that are meaningful and Christ centered.
It was on Wednesday 19th June, I was in my office, having a brief discussion with my staff, when suddenly, the entire building shook violently.
It stopped as suddenly as it started.
‘It’s an earthquake,’ I managed in a hoarse voice.
It certainly caught me off guard. I did not even have the chance to say ‘Lord have mercy,’ much less to DROP, COVER, NOR HOLD ON!’
You know, the way it seemed, it was like a huge giant had just seized the building with his hands and given it one severe shaking.
Now, I had already heard that there were similar occurrences in Trinidad, earlier in the week, but hardly paid it any mind—after all, that was Trinidad.
Well I newa!
Now I was rudely shaken into the reality that earthquakes were not reserved for Trinidad but they can hit home here as well, even when we are more focused on preparing for hurricanes.
And so, the sober reality set in. It could have been worse.
We could have died.
Were we ready to die?
Just this week, we also lost a young man, who many considered one of Nevis’ most daring and finest Motorcyclists.
Let me quickly say sincerest condolences to the family but you already know how I feel about motorbikes…..
He must have had many plans for his immediate and distant future.
A family man who will not see his children graduate.
Sad…so sad.
So how prepared are we to die?
I remember hearing one of my favourite Pastors, Pastor Roosevelt Daniel, speak of his experience in Montserrat, when the volcano blew.
He said something that I will never forget.
He stated that when the volcano blew and everyone was panicking, when they realized what was going on, that that was not the time to pray.
Prayer time should have already been a part of the psyche and should have been done before.
When people are in panic mode, the last thing on most of their minds, is to pray.
I understand that when the Christena went down, there were a few Nuns who started to pray but their prayers were hardly audible, as a lot of persons resorted to swear words, as everyone tried to get off the boat, to save themselves.
So, it follows therefore, that we cannot wait until there is a pending disaster to seek to make a connection with God and even if we manage the ‘Lord have mercy’ thing, God knows our hearts and he would know who is serious with him and who is not.
Did you ever hear the story about these two guys in the boat that started to sink and one of them started to pray and he said: ‘God, if you save us, we will give away all the fish to our fellow villagers; we will give half of our life savings to the needy and we will go to church every week.
The other guy said ’Bwoy you can’t make them kind ah promises.’
The prayerful man responded: ‘Bwoy hush, he aint know me aint mean it!’
So hey, we can’t fool God and we better start preparing now to live lives to please him, or one day, too late will be our cry.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?