Matthew 24:42-44

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Yesterday afternoon my uncle Mark, mom's older brother, passed away suddenly and without warning. He was a few weeks shy of his 53rd birthday.

This is an enormous shock to my family. So far, I've managed to keep myself removed from what I can only imagine is a mounting swell of emotion amongst the family members. I haven't even heard yet if there's been a ruling on the cause of death.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, especially my aunt Brenda and cousin Hannah. I am very concerned how this is all affecting and will affect Hannah. She is only 15 and was close to her father. Her life up until this point has been pretty sheltered. I hope that she will emerge from this loss a strong young woman, and I also hope that I can be there to help keep her from spiraling too deeply into a destructive grief.

Mark was still young and relatively healthy. We just were at his house not two weeks ago.

Death comes in its own time. Life is immensely precious. Too precious to waste on slavish jobs that tear down our health and keep us from our loved ones. Too precious to waste sitting like drones in front of mindless TV or internet distractions.

We are never guaranteed tomorrow.