Death's Last Day

The week of March 25, 2001 is a week that forever haunts me around the time of Easter. Just a few Sundays before that Dan O’Donnell, a new student from Washington, asked me if I would take him to hear my coach preach at his little church a half hour away. I agreed and we talked about life, decisions, regrets, and hope the whole way their and back. Dan had made some huge mistakes in his life, but he was willing to admit is condition. His honesty was so thorough and threatening--you almost expected him to turn and say, "Now what about you, Josh?"

Thursday of that week (March 25th) I sat down to eat lunch around 11:30am. Normally, I sat with all the basketball players, but I was growing tired of that so I decided to sit next to Jamie. I knew Jamie only a little. She worked in the Day Care of the church where I was involved, so I’d see her every now and then. Jamie had one of those smiles that could light up a room-and fortunate for us, she chose to display as frequently as possible. We just made small talk. She told me she was going home to Toronto for the weekend.

Adam also connected with me the week of March 25. Adam and I had been friends for over a year and a half. He used to sit up in my room until all hours of the night goofing around, asking questions, and getting into trouble. I’ll never forget the Sunday afternoon that Matt walked into my room with a paintball gun and a sly grin. “Want to take some target practice?” I looked at one of my good friends who were in the room with me and we both nodded, “Ok-what did you have in mind?” “Well, see that building across the road?” He was pointing to one of the other dormitories that was visible from my dorm room. “Well, I figured that these orange paintballs would look nice considering they just put a fresh coat of paint on.” I’d like to say that I resisted this devious offer. I would love to be able to tell you this morning that I stood up and said, “I’m a follower of Jesus, I’m a Christian, I can’t do that.” But if I did, I’d be lying. I took that gun and lit up the dorm across the way. A dorm that had just been coated with fresh paint.

The week of March 25th is yet another reminder to me of death's elusiveness. That Friday night, Dan, Jamie, Adam and two of their friends climbed into an S.U.V and headed towards Toronto. They were just going home to visit mom and dad. (I just remembered this part: Adam crossed my path in the dorm on the Friday morning they left--"Josh, we haven't hung out in a while...when I get back..."). A few hours into the trip, everyone in the car became sleepy. The driver also fell asleep and swerved off the road when her sister in the back woke up just in time and yelled. The driver over compensated for her swerves and flipped the car several times. That night three people died. None of them had reached the age of 22. The other two in the car walked away with minor injuries.

For me and many others, the cross and easter is not simply about the forgiveness of sins and the liberation from the principalties and powers creation so desperately awaits--Friday and Sunday are also about those we long to see when King Jesus has promised to "make all things new."