Don Waddell, an associate minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, had a recent brush with death. Just home from the hospital following neck surgery, Waddell developed complications that cut off his air supply. He was seconds from death when EMS workers opened up his airway.

Don was not out of danger even after arriving at the hospital. He was in ICU for 13 days, and he remembers nothing of the first 3 days there. He does remember trying to focus on the big clock on the wall and hearing doctors discuss his case. He heard them say that there was a 50-50 chance he wouldn’t come out of it.

The Waddell family did experience some blessings from their time spent in ICU. Don, a normally stoic former Air Force Colonel, poured out his heart to his grown children. He wondered aloud if he had led them to Christ, or simply led them to church. They assured him that he had led them to Christ.

When Waddell returned to work at the church, he put a clock in his office that looked like the one he had focused on in ICU. He says that it is a reminder that he’s living on borrowed time.

“God has given us 86,000 seconds in a day”, Waddell said. “I got a restart…The question is what I’m going to do with the remaining time He’s given me.”

When you consider the fact that we all are living on borrowed time, that’s a good question for us too.

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”—Psalm 90:12.

Do something important today.