Poppycock and Tom Foolery

I've been thinking a lot about death. Kinda weird considering I'm 19, in good health, and living in America, right? But I can't get it off my mind recently.

I think about how it's the one thing every single living organism on this planet has in common. How it's inevitable, unpredictable, and, a lot of the time, feared. It's the ultimate punishment. It's a sobering threat. It's a serious matter. It's an ominous predicament.

It's kind of boring to think about, really.

I guess more specifically, I've been thinking about my own death. I wonder how it will happen. I have certain hopes, of course. For example, I kinda hope I don't die in my sleep. This is due mainly to the kind of life I have dedicated myself to. It'd be pretty anticlimactic to lead a life dedicated to changing this world, to reaching out to the farthest places of the earth to bring hope and life, and then fall asleep one night and never wake up.

Don't get me wrong, I want to die at an old age.* I've still got a lot of life left in me to be hoping for a car accdent tonight. But I want to die doing something I love, y'know? And although I do love to sleep, I want something more... substancial.

Defending a village from raiders, perhaps? Spreading the Gospel? Delivering relief supplies? I dunno, but something cool like that. I see how dieing while asleep appeals to some, but to me it seems like a bunch of poffycock and tom foolery.

Also, I wonder what my funeral will be like. If we go based on the D.O.D. (death on duty) form I filled out for the fire crew last summer, I would have Ben Stein read my eulogy and I would leave all my stuff to Sarah.** But that doesn't really tell us anything.

A good friend of mine, Chase, said he went to a funeral over Christmas break. He described it like this:
"The first half was mourning. Everyone really missed him, so we were all in and out of tears, holding each other and remembering all he meant to us. But then the second half was bizzarre. We realized that we knew where he was, and that we'd catch up with him before long, so there was laughing and dancing and singing of his favorite songs."
I want my service to be like that. Because here's the bottom line: I know where I'm going. I realize this is a sketchy statement to a lot of you reading this blog, but I don't know what else to say. God is a real and living Being, far greater than anything we can even imagine. I've become convinced of this and I try every day to live my life accodring to this.

And I guess the reason I've been thinking so much about death recently is because I'm no longer afraid of it. It's still a strange concept, don't get me wrong, and I'd be lieing if I told you I wasn't a little bit apprehensive. But, I dunno, I'm kind excited for the day I get to see what it's like to walk in His presence.


Thanks for reading,

-Daniel K

P.S. Another reason I've been thinking about it is because I'm still trying to find a way to get into the abandoned Gates Rubber Factory here in Devner. Google image search it... it makes American Flats look like a merry go round.

*That is, of course, assuming the world doesn't end in 2012.... Dun dun duuuun!
**Except my pack of wolves. Those belong to the Mammy.