Yesterday, we learned that Nick Adenhart, rookie pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels died with two others in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. I am a baseball fan. I am an Angels fan. I am a Christian. This was a sad and terrible day.
How can such a thing happen? 6 hours before the accident, twenty-two year old Nick Adenhart was on top of the world. He had pitched six shutout innings against the Oakland A’s. Now he was dead in a seemingly random act. It seems wrong. It seems painfully unfair and even cruel.
I honestly know very little about Nick Adenhart, or about whether he was a Christian. Nevertheless, I feel profoundly sad for the parents of Nick Adenhart, as well as other parents who lost their children in this accident. It’s a terrible thing to bury your child. I pray, that they will find some solace and some hope in the Lord as they search for the meaning of all this.
In this world, we often idolize sports figures and we place a disproportionate weight on their accomplishments. Winning games and doing well often become a matter of “life and death.” But, this event reminds me that in the larger scheme of life, sports and baseball, the things we distract ourselves with, pale in comparison to real issues of life and death.
Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, one of the classiest acts in baseball said the following:
“A lot of these guys in here have never lost anybody in their family that’s close to them. I hate that this happened, but this is part of life. This is the real deal. That’s why you’ve got to kiss your kids, kiss your family every day when you get up in the morning and before you leave for work.”
Torii Hunters words remind me of James 4:13-15
“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.'”
Life is precious and every day we have on this earth is a gift. How do I want to use that gift? How do I want to spend my time? So often, I feel that I don’t have time for others. I don’t have time for my wife. I don’t have time for my kids. I don’t have time for my friends. I have time to email. I want time to myself. I need my personal space. Accidents like this, remind me that I should make the most of every moment and cherish the people that God has placed in my life.
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