Haisley Oaklynn McCormick grew up in a prestigious suburb surrounded by the well-heeled. Her parents net worth exceeded eight figures and Haisley was an only child. Her parents’ high paying jobs necessitated working long hours, leaving a less-than-the-ideal amount of time for them to focus on Haisley. They tried to make up for this deficiency with money, buying Haisley pretty much whatever she wanted. She always had the most fashionable clothes, the finest salon treatments, and she drove to school and back in her brand new Lexus SUV. Wealth and privilege was the only way of life she knew. Her biggest problem was the lingering question of why her parents gave her such a strange name; but she kind of liked the uniqueness of being the only Haisley she knew.
Patrick Thomas O’Brien was the high school’s star quarterback. He actually excelled in baseball, too, but his lifestyle didn’t leave room for two sports so he gave baseball up. The girls seemed to favor football players after all. He grew up in a middle class neighborhood. His parents both worked, out of necessity, but their income usually was just enough to pay the bills. Patrick managed to save enough money from his part time work to buy a used Chevy Silverado 4WD. It had a lot of miles and a bit of rust, but even rusty pickups carry a certain coolness factor that fit his desired bad boy image quite nicely. Known to his friends as PT and to the local police for his weekend antics, he managed to avoid suspension from high school athletics mostly because he was the best quarterback they’d had in decades.
PT’s one hundred percent Irish heritage gave him rugged good looks and a natural charm that Haisley found irresistible. She was drawn to him almost immediately and became a cheerleader mostly to be closer to him. Accustomed to getting her way, she made quick work of establishing her place as PT’s steady girlfriend. Her well-to-do parents weren’t thrilled with her love interest, but PT and Haisley had been dating for the better part of two years so they were used to it by now. Their busy work schedules made it easy not to think too much about it, but inwardly they wished someone better would come along. PT was no stranger to trouble and they felt he had a negative effect on Haisley’s behavior, too. But Haisley was pretty sure she wanted to be married to him and she had no intention of giving up on that goal.
Perry was a big oafish kind of young man. He was almost big enough to be an offensive lineman but he was the backup quarterback instead because, while he was slow and a bit clumsy at times, he could throw a football 70 yards and be on target every time. He grew up in a Christian home and his mother had once been a Gospel singer before she became a mom. Perry and PT wouldn’t normally be friends except for football. Both being quarterbacks for the same team meant they spent quite a bit of time together. PT didn’t like it when Perry brought up Jesus, which he did frequently, but this time was different. Last night PT got in some real trouble with the police and he knew he’d gone too far.
Full of regret and uncertainty, he confided his predicament to Perry. PT knew all the college scouting visits and potential scholarships were now in jeopardy. He had Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley coming, for goodness sakes, and he would surely cancel upon hearing this news. As PT poured his heart out, he noticed how Perry just listened quietly and without judgment. It was hard for PT to talk with his other friends because they had a tendency to tell him what he wanted to hear and encourage him toward the next opportunity for shenanigans. The other guys just wanted to have fun but Perry was different, and his concern was genuine, so after unloading his heart to Perry, PT heard himself say, “tell me about Jesus.” And after Perry shared the Gospel, PT became a Christian right there and then. He was still very much in trouble with the law, but the burden was now lighter, and he knew something real had happened. And for the first time in at least a couple years, he cried. Tears of sorrow and joy.
After he left his meeting with Perry and pulled himself together, he sent Haisley a text. PT wanted to tell her the trouble he was in before she found out on her own, which wouldn’t take long in this gossip-ridden town. Haisley was plenty mad when PT told his criminal tale, but she sensed some true remorse and held back her boiling anger. Her reputation would be affected by all this, too, and her parents would dislike PT even more when they found out. But she loved him, and his repentance seemed palpable, so she forgave him and held him tight. When PT concluded with the story about his meeting with Perry and how he gave his life to Jesus, Haisley really didn’t know what to think, so she just said, “That’s great.”
Now Haisley really liked singer Lewis Capaldi and she had started using part of his newest song lyric as her goodbye routine. So whenever PT was leaving her, she’d say, “Before you go, let me make your heart beat better,” and she’d give him a long kiss. It was corny, but somehow PT secretly loved this new ritual. But tonight it was especially sweet, so when Haisley smiled and gave him her corny line “before you go….” followed by a very long kiss good night, PT whispered in her ear, “my heart really is beating better now.” And he left feeling more positive than he had all day.
On his drive home, just a few miles from Haisley’s house, out on Old Town Highway, his newfound positivity was interrupted when his Chevy Silverado started making a loud banging noise from underneath. A broken u-joint. Great. He pulled over and crawled underneath the truck with his flash light to take a look. And exactly 6.4 seconds later, a drunk driver slammed into the back of PT’s disabled truck. The drunk driver and his passenger were unhurt, save for the driver’s bloody nose, but PT was killed instantly.
And just like that, a young man’s life ended. And just like PT and the people in our story, don’t we often think we have more time? But the truth is we may not have another day or even another hour. Life is fleeting, and for many, it ends suddenly and unexpectedly. The Bible tells us that we are wise to consider the brevity of life. In Psalm 39:4-5 it is written: “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” And in Psalm 90:12 it says: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
So if you have not accepted Jesus yet, please consider how quick things can change for you and take seriously Jesus’ call to repentance. “From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’” (Matthew 4:17) You may very well not have another chance and you can be certain Jesus has the solution to the sin problem: “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.” (Romans 10:4) For it is far better to go into the next life, as PT did, with Jesus than without him.
If you’d like more information on a relationship with Jesus, here are two resources that can help:
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