Many of us who raised children in western Canada were hockey parents who knew that travel across large geographic areas in the middle of winter was just part of the game. At the same time, however, we could not escape fear and the possibility that they would be at risk.
Deaths and serious injuries resulting from the recent accident involving passengers who were travelling for hockey playoffs in Nipawin this month has sent a shock-wave around the world!
The Humboldt Bronco hockey players on the team bus ranged in age from sixteen years to twenty-one years. They were accompanied by coaching staff, their volunteer statistician, sports announcer and athletic therapist as well as their driver. Each of the twenty-nine on board had goals and dreams. They had each sacrificed and worked hard to earn a place in the league and on that bus. But hockey wasn't the only important thing in their lives.
One of them had a degree in kinesiology. One was a concert pianist. One was a Sunday School teacher. One was an organ donor whose sacrifice will apparently save six other lives. All of them had family and close friends.
On April 8, 2018 thousands gathered together to watch an event held at the Broncos arena, the exact place where the team was scheduled to play that night. Their team pastor Sean Bandaw told a powerful story at that spiritual vigil that should cause all of us to pause and re-evaluate our own lives.
Pastor Bandaw talked about a chapel recently conducted for the team in which objects were thrown into a swimming pool. The team members were told that they could only take one large breath and while they were holding it, do the best they could to secure the objects. He explained that each of us has a limited number of breaths and that life is short. We therefore need to be thoughtful about what we are doing during our time here on earth.
Often we become so wrapped up in the "busyness" we create and as we chase trivial things that capture our attention. We state that we don't have time to do things that we really could and should do. Our minds trick us into believing that we have lots of time to do what is important and that we will get to them later.
But then other trivial things capture our attention and we become distracted again. This pattern can lead to regrets.
I often think about the "old" days when all the family members showed up for holidays and special occasions. Now, because of our twenty-four hour economy and shiftwork, there are frequently people missing from the celebrations. Unresolved relationship issues can interfere with ongoing contact. Differing priorities can divide us.
I know that all of my children and grandchildren will attend my funeral no matter what was going on in their busy lives. One day, as a joke, I suggested that I should plan the funeral to held a few months from now even though I will still be alive. That way I would have the opportunity to see everyone communing together one last time!
None of us know how many breaths that we have left but each of us hopes that there will be many. What will you do that has meaning until they stop?