I’ve known people who have participated in a “death experience.”

They write their own eulogy and a farewell message to family and friends. They even go so far as to lie down in a casket so they can see what they look like “dead.”

This experience is to remind the participant that we should live in such a way that we have no regrets when we die.

No one knows when life here on earth will come to an end. Life can unexpectedly be lost in the time it takes our heart to move from one beat to another. Then, too, even the bleakest of situations can turn around, giving us renewed energy and life for years to come.

We experienced this truth in our family a few years ago, when my wife was gravely ill.

The doctor said her chances of survival were slim. As I drove home that night with tears streaming down my face, God sent me a message telling me to “lift up my eyes to Jesus” through the words of a song.

Thankfully, God granted my request to give me more time with my wife. But the experience was a wake-up call to both of us to make God our number one priority. Nothing is worth more than having the confidence of knowing you will spend eternity with God.