Today is my birthday. I'm 53 today. This is a birthday I will never forget. It is a birthday I almost didn't make.

Yesterday morning we received word that the wife of one of my cousins died on Saturday night. She was suddenly feeling bad, and called her doctor who was alarmed enough to send her to the hospital, where they found a virulent infection, but they didn't have time to treat it before she died. She was a year or two older than me.

We live on the edge of life and death each day, each one of us. How much we take for granted!

There is a story about Luther, that he was asked, "What would you do if you knew the world would end tomorrow?" Luther reportedly said, "I would plant a tree."

I think that points to a faithful response to God, for God's gift of this day of life. We keep high in our consciousness that, for any one of us, the world might indeed end tomorrow -- or today! Meanwhile, we work as if there will be no end to time, doing the work God gives us to do.

Thank God for the gift of this one day of life!