I came back from a couple of days’ vacation and all kinds of stuff happened in Milwaukee while I was gone, much of it bad. Three sad passings caught my eye as I checked the news.

First was the tragic case of the Cadillac Escalade that was swallowed by a sinkhole on Oakland Ave. Thursday the city was overwhelmed by torrential rains. The entire car dropped into a neat twenty-foot hole that suddenly opened up. To its credit it ran for 12 hours before running out of gas. The shaken driver was helped to safety by a kind passer-by. R.I.P. ‘Sclade.

Another driver during the storm was not so fortunate. His car was found in Lincoln Creek, where it must have been swept off a bridge by the rapidly rising water. His body was found a mile downstream. He was a 19-year-old college kid with a lot of friends and a bright future. I have four kids around that age, and I cannot begin to imagine his parents’ grief. R.I.P.

Then there’s the helium. A 79-year-old retired physician and his 78-year-old wife decided that they had lived long enough. They were worried that they were getting too frail to live at home, and the wife was exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer’s. They had been reading literature on suicide for years and left behind a signed letter explaining their actions. They were terrified of the loss of control and indignities that would come in a nursing home, and so they decided to “die with dignity.” They went out into the garage, sat in their car, put plastic bags over their heads, and managed to fill the bags with helium, effectively asphyxiating themselves. R.I.P.

Murder of the self is still murder. What is really sad to me, though, is that these two fine citizens apparently never found the sweet joy of knowing that their lives could have been in God’s hands. Their last days on earth were filled with dread instead of the joyful anticipation of restoration and reunion with the Savior and loved ones of earlier years.

Here’s a better way. Last week a friend lost her husband to cancer. His brother had come to give support in the final illness, but his idle chatter was not wanted. “Don’t talk about the Brewers,” he said. “Read me the Gospel of John.” What a great idea. Would you do that for me in my last daysω Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” What do you want people to talk about when they come to visit you in your last daysω