Not if... but when...

My Mom, bless her heart is faithful to ask me regularly if I am backing up my files on my computer. She is regularly saying "Not if, but when" meaning I should back up my files on my computer because it is not if my computer dies, but when my computer dies. I have to admit other than backing up work files' I have no back-up. I do however plan to back up tonight because there is this nagging feeling that I will regret it if I don't.

I have had this quote in my head all day. Not if, but when... I remember youth camp a few years ago when our pastor took his computer to camp. As soon as we got there his screen was all blue... I was told this was the screen of death. Evidently there was no coming back. His computer was completely useless. I can remember not really believing at first his computer was dead because he was so calm about it. He was even laughing. I believe he had his files backed up.

There is something else that the phrase "Not if... but when" applies to and that is death.

We will die someday it is just a matter of when.

A friend of mine in high school was murdered by her boyfriend just a few months after graduation.

A man and his co-worker were driving to work one sunny morning and just as they drove by a wooded area, a tree fell on the roof of the truck and killed the man instantly.

A toddler drowns in a pool.

A middle-aged man dies in his sleep.

An elderly woman dies of Alzheimer’s.

A car full of teens skipped school and crashed. Everyone in the car dies.

A woman in her mid-thirties dies of cancer. Her mother is also dying of cancer.

A loved one takes his own life.

An elderly man dies weeks after his wife of a broken heart.

Tomorrow isn’t promised to us. We need to be ready in case tonight we stand face to face with the Lord. Are you ready?

Are you like my pastor? Are you calm and laughing because you are prepared?

My 83 year old grandmother accepted Jesus as her Savior a few days before she died. She waited 83 years before trusting in Jesus. In His sweet mercy the Lord opened his arms to my grandmother and welcomed her home.

You might not have 83 years. Or maybe you will have 100 years. I am so grateful I have the rest of my earthly life and then the rest of eternity to be with the Lord. I wouldn’t want to go through the trials of life without Him by my side.

Trust in the Lord today. Trust Him for all your needs. He will meet you. He's always near.