Death Comes in Threes

Have you heard of the adage, death comes in threes? I think it's more commonly applied to tragedies of any sort (bad things happen in threes) but death is pretty much the worst tragedy that can happen. On Thursday, I flew to Vancouver, WA to visit with my good friends, Dan and Esther. Now I am not the happiest camper when it comes to flying - I hate the stale air, the cramped seats, and I'm scared of crashing (and of sitting in the exit row and not knowing how to open the emergency door). Needless to say, I breathed a sigh of relief when the plane touched down and there were no incidents. Then my phone trilled, indicating a text message.

"Hey guys. I have bad news. Joe Kojima died today in a car accident. Lets pray for him and his family."

For those of you who never met Joe (Jun), he was this quiet, unassuming Japanese guy who liked to come to Korean church and sit at the Korean table. We never questioned his presence, always accepting his company, appreciating it. I never kept in touch with him after I graduated, but I wish I had. I'm sure my life would have been blessed for it.

Still reeling from the news, I grabbed a late dinner with my friends and we settled in for the evening. The next morning, I checked my Facebook and had a message from my friend Isaac that told me of his grandfather's passing on early that morning. That made two. Now I know that I didn't ever meet Isaac's grandfather, but Isaac is a good friend of mine so the connection was there.

And now I'm scared of three. I haven't heard of any accidents or illnesses yet. But I'm scared. It's not enough that we ask God for safety because sometimes, things happen. There's no real rhyme or reason to it other than it was time - a very small consolation for a life cut short but the reason nonetheless. It's not that I'm afraid of death, necessarily. I'm more afraid of life after someone I love is dead. For a short while, your life is in turmoil and you can't seem to feel like you're actually rested, no matter how long you sleep. And you make all sorts of promises to yourself, God, and your friends that you'll no longer take anything for granted. Until you do. Until the next person dies and you realize that the previous death meant nothing, did nothing.

I want to love my life, my family, my friends, my job, my neighbors, and above all else, my God. I don't want to forget that the death of a Loved One made all the difference. I don't want to forget anymore. I hope you don't either. I hope the third death is mine - my life without Christ - so that I can begin a new life, one in which I won't forget.