If Tomorrow Starts Without Me...

Last weekend, Nigerians returned from church to hear of the Dana Air crash in Iju. A whopping 153 souls were on the flight with yet to be ascertained number of people on the ground at the residential area the plane smashed into. My prayers remain with the affected families, the sadness that follows such painful loss of loved ones cannot even be imagined. I will ask the Good Lord, who knows ALL to soothe their hurt in this dark sombre period.


Many of us who work around sick people appreciate the value of good health and life itself. We've seen death snatch folks right in front of us, we've had to tell relatives they'll never see their loved ones again; they'll never see them smile, they'll never hold them again, they'll not see them frown at them again. Life is more than just a four letter word, life is a gift.


A friend of my mine updated her status message on her BlackBerry last week and I viewed it while I was driving somewhere in Surulere. It read 'If Tomorrow Starts Without Me'. The message hit me like an iron rod to the back of the skull. It was one of the deepest things I had read since the tragedy struck on Sunday. I immediately asked her what prompted it and she explained that it was a poem she learnt after she lost close classmates to the 2005 Sosoliso Port Harcourt air disaster. I found it very insightful and reflective.


Life is what it is, it is a dark basket where each second of the day we dip our hands and are never really certain what we'll pick. Life is sweet and bitter, fair and wicked, long and short, happy and sad, hot and cold. Life is a myriad of things to the same person and the same thing to a myriad of people. You just never know what you'll get.


In 2005 when the school children coming home from Abuja for Christmas boarded that plane, they were totally sure they'll be hugging their folks in 45minutes. Just the way you are so sure you'll close from work at 4pm today. Their parents were at the airport waiting to pick them in 2005, they were so sure their kids were going to be home for the holidays and had probably made plans for how the holidays would be spent. Just the way you are so sure you'll not choke on your food during supper today.


On Sunday, when the Dana-153 boarded the plane, they were so sure they were going to 'ping' their friends once the plane landed and they were permitted to turn on their smart-phones. They probably ended conversations just before take off with 'GTG...TTYL'. They were very sure they'll continue the discussion later. Just the way you are sure you'll drive home from work today in your car and won't get crushed by a speeding truck. The Iju-Ishaga residents nko? It was a Sunday, some were probably ironing their shirts in their bedrooms in preparation for work the next day, they were so sure they'll wear those black shoes instead of the brown ones. Just the way you are sure you'll see your husband, wife, sibling or cousin whom you left at home this morning when you rushed out to work. 


It never even crosses our minds that maybe, just maybe, all the above were possibilities.


If tomorrow starts without me, I want to be remembered for being a good son, brother, boyfriend, friend and doctor. If tomorrow starts without me, I want to be with Master Jesus. If tomorrow starts without me, I want everybody I love be certain I loved them. If tomorrow starts without me, I want the ones who I offended the day before be glad they forgave me before I left. If tomorrow starts without me, I want to leave with no regrets, no misgivings, no grudges, no debts, just peace.


Someone once said 'Begin to live at once and count each separate day as a separate life'. 


Nigerians forget very quickly. We move on very quickly once we are not directly involved. Yesterday, the ones affected today were just like you and I. Someone's yesterday is now their today and could be your tomorrow. There are no assurances, you take what you get and life deals the cards however it chooses. No negotiations, no strikes, no arguments, no second chances.


A young successful banker I follow on Twitter wrote yesterday 'The Mrs just arrived on one of those dilapidated air vessels, the things we took for granted last week are now miracles'. Beyond the air disaster and the fleeting nature of human life, there are several small things we take for granted. I'm sure it never occurred to you that today could be your last. Did it? We are planning for this weekend, its someone's wedding, its a naming ceremony, its a birthday party. We've planned next month, its professional exams, its a new pair of shoes, its a lounge opening in Victoria Island. Next year nko? Ah, we must buy a new car, we must move into our new flat, we must travel for summer. 


Charles Darwin submitted that 'A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life'. One hour is a long time for someone who just plunged from the sky to the ground in less than 10seconds. It is a long time in the life of a passenger whose plane just crashed and waits for it to explode in 20minutes. One hour is a long time for someone who is on the toilet seat in his house in Iju when the a nose of a Boeing MD83 suddenly crashes through the wall. One hour is a lot of time in the life of a human.


So why not quickly tell you parents you love them? Why not tell your spouse he or she is deeply loved? Why not remind your siblings they mean the world to you? Why not hug your friends and tell them how much they are appreciated? Ultimately and most importantly, why not tell Jesus you love Him and say 'Thank You' for the gift of all the aforementioned people. 


If you knew today, that tomorrow, by chance, could start without you....what would you do tonight?


Let's attend to the 'important' stuff.