The one common dream of so many young people is becoming of age to drive.  So powerful is this urge that they often begin to drive before they have reached the lawful age.  I remember one cold winter night in early January when driving became extremely dangerous.  My new bride and I were returning from our honeymoon.  We met our gospel band (consisting of my brothers and two friends) and performed in a church in South Georgia.  We were young and life was beautiful. 

The night was clear and filled with stars.  I had driven much during the day, so at this particular time my new bride was driving.  Weary eyes demanded rest, so I had closed them and trusted my wife to take care of us.  As time passed and the journey grew long, I was restless, partially resting and sometimes watching the road.  As we approached an intersection I became concerned that my wife might confuse this one with another intersection nearby that had a stop sign.  Two intersections, very similar in appearance, very close together, but one had a stop sign and the other did not.  My wife appeared sleepy and had her head resting on her hand with her elbow on the door near the window.  Being concerned that she might panic and suddenly stop unnecessarily, I gently spoke to her to be careful.  The exact opposite of what I wanted is what happened.  She thought I saw a stop sign and immediately hit the brakes, causing our car to skid, spin around, and end up facing the direction from which we had just come.  In addition, there was an eighteen-wheeler approaching the intersection from the other direction.  It would have been easy for us to have ended our spinning in front of this huge truck, but we didn’t.  God spared our lives that night.

I am reminded of a verse found in Jeremiah which states that, “For death is come up into our windows…”(Jeremiah 9:21).  My friend, death is all around us.  Sometimes we skate by even though it is close.  Other times death snatches people away from us that causes great pain and grief.  The verse actually speaks of children and young people that death is preparing to take.  Please remember that we are flesh, life is not guaranteed and we need to prepare ourselves for eternity.  The lives of my new bride and I hung in the balance that night so long ago, but I have known for a long time that death is watching.  I must be ready always to stand before my Maker.  Are you ready?