I raise this matter with you today because I had a stunning brush with death recently under the most bizarre of circumstances; and when I managed to survive that unexpected episode all I could think about was this verse in James and the reminder that my life is nothing more than a mist that can be snatched away or snuffed out in the twinkling of an eye.

Last Sunday Peggy and I traveled to Virginia Beach where we planned to take a few days off and recover from the pace and pressures of life. We hadn’t had a break from our schedule of preaching, pastoral work, writing, teaching and traveling for quite a while. I hadn’t taken a day off, except for sickness, in a few months. It was a relatively slow time here at the church and it was the break between the winter and spring quarters at the seminary; so it was a good time to get away for three days. We left Sunday after church and returned late Wednesday evening. However, I almost did not return at all.

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On Monday afternoon we went to see a movie: The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin. One of the ways in which I relax is by watching movies: westerns, comedies, James Bond thrillers and all the films in the Pink Panther series. An actor named Peter Sellers had played the lead role in that film series, but he died several years ago, and since that time no new films had been made. When I heard that this new film was coming out I was anxious to see it so we went that Monday afternoon.

I should say from the outset that the film was very good. In fact, at some points it was so funny that I could not stop myself from laughing. That is when the trouble started. There was a scene in the movie that got me laughing at a point when I had popcorn in my mouth. I can only imagine that a kernel of popcorn got lodged in the air passage in my throat. At first I was simply laughing; but suddenly I was gasping for air and I could not breathe. Add to that the fact that I was heavily congested in my chest and at some point while I was laughing and gagging for air I also started coughing and something from my chest also got caught in my air passage.

I don’t know just when I passed out, but according to Peggy -- who was sitting to my left during the movie -- my head and then my body began to slump down and sink to the right. I lost consciousness and I have no recollection of what happened next. The next thing I remember was Peggy standing over me in that dark movie theatre calling my name and asking me what was wrong. I was seated in such a way that she could not get behind me to do the Heimlich maneuver, so she just grabbed me and tried to pull me up from my downward slide.

In that instant, whatever was caught in my throat either popped out or went down; I cannot say which one. But I came right back to consciousness. I assured her that I was all right. We finished watching the movie. And all the way back to the hotel where we were staying we kept remembering how close I came to being dead and how close she came to being a widow. I assure you that my dying while we were on vacation was not a part of our agenda. And dying because a kernel of popcorn got lodged in my throat was something that has never crossed my mind.