Letters From Grandpa #416

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

• 416

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will by about death and judgment. Please do not be offended or procrastinate in thinking about these important subjects for “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27 KJV). You may not be good about keeping appointments, but you will keep your appointment with death and judgment whether you want to our not. The message of the prophet Amos to ancient Israel was clear and succinct - “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12).

Quite often our appointment with death comes suddenly and unexpected. On August 17, 2020 Cousin Wakon Iron RedCorn ate supper, sat down in his easy chair, turned on the TV, and suddenly died. Fortunately he was a dedicated Christian and had been preparing for death and judgment since he was a child. While his death was due to a heart attack, some deaths are more difficult to explain. Medical science describes a condition known as SDS or “Sudden Death Syndrome”. This is a loosely defined umbrella term for a series of cardiac syndromes that cause sudden death. In infants it is called SIDS, or “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome”. For some unexplained reason, some babies, less than a year old, that seem to be healthy, die suddenly in their sleep. The old timers called it “crib death”. SDS is more common in young and middle-aged adults. In this age group the unexplained death is known as “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome”(SADS). People with SADS usually appear perfectly healthy before they die. SADS often has no visible signs or symptoms. A word to the wise ought to be sufficient!

I don’t mean to be macabre, but death is a reality for all ages and physical conditions. According to International Olympic Committee, “an average of 29 athletes under the age of 35 suffered sudden death each year from 1966 to 2004. From March 2021 to March 2022, 769 other athletes suddenly died or suffered cardiac arrest. From 2017-2020 28 muscular bodybuilders suddenly dropped dead. Jim Fixx, the patron saint of running, died suddenly during his daily run July 20. 1984. He was only 52. Dr. Edmund Burke gained world wide fame in the field of exercise philosophy, nutrition, and medicine. He was a competitive biker and served as coordinator for the U.S. Cycling team in 1996. He authored or edited 11 books on physical fitness and health. He died suddenly while riding his bike on Nov. 7, 2002. He was only 53. We all know that a good diet and a good exercise program are important, but common sense compels us to realize that preparing to meet God is more important!

The late Mike Pratt worked with our church and lived with us for some time. He became part of our family. His father and baby sister were killed in a plane crash July 23, 1966. Since their deaths came suddenly it prompted Mike to frequently say: “We should never get our roots so deeply in the things of earth that we cannot leave them in a moment’s notice”. That “moment” came for Mike on December 24, 1974 when he flew into an ice storm and the wing came off his small plane. He was only 26 years old. Fortunately, however, he was also well prepared for death and judgment. Here is a link to some more of his meditations if you are interested. https://boycemouton.com/downloads/Meditations_For_Mother.pdf

Saint-Pierre was a city of 28,000 on the Island of Martinique in the Caribbean. This beautiful city was known as “the Paris of the Caribbean.” On Thursday morning, May 8, 1902, the citizens of Saint-Pierre arose and began their activities for the day. Wise King Solomon said “There is a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). We may safely say that not many in Saint-Pierre were thinking about dying. They had too many other “important” things to think about and do. Louis- Auguste Cyparis may have been an exception. He was a 27 year old condemned criminal. He was

constantly in trouble and his present crime involved a bar fight in which his victim was said to have died. So Cyparis was imprisoned in a dungeon without windows awaiting his fate. At 8:00 on that fateful morning the volcano Mt. Pelee erupted and within ten minutes approximately 29,000 people in and around Saint-Pierre were killed. Some estimate the total deaths in the area as high as 40,000. Super heated steam of up to 1,967 degrees Fahrenheit spread at 100 mph over Saint-Pierre. Incredibly, Cyparis survived. He was found four days later when a rescue crew heard his cry for help. Though badly burned, he somehow survived. He was pardoned of all his crimes and ended up joining the Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was billed as “The most marvelous man in the world” and was the first black man to star in that segregated show. He died of natural causes in 1929.

The Scriptures warn: “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (Ja. 4:13-17).

“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone” (Deut. 34:7). It would be wonderful to live as long as Moses without losing strength or vision, but not one of us can count on it! As James said: “you do not even know what will happen tomorrow”. SO ON YOUR BUCKET LIST OF THINGS TO DO, PUT PREPARING TO MEET GOD AT THE TOP OF THE LIST! “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce