The Graciousness of Life in the Contemplation on Death

I think we're all familiar with the saying, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." While cliche, it's true (as most cliches are!) And the same thing applies to life and death. When death seems real to us, life becomes all the more valuable in our minds.
This past weekend, central North Carolina experience horrific tornados and storms. Lives were lost, property destroyed, and for two hours we all just sat and watched the radar to see if we were in the mighty storm's path. Such an experience reminds us of how powerless we are, how out of control we are, and how frail and vulnerable our lives truly are. Such an event reminds us vividly of our mortality and that at any moment our lives could end. Living off of Route 98, the artery between Wake Forest and Durham, provides me with daily examples of how quickly our circumstances could change. I watch endless streams of cars, running 70 mph, travel this road daily and I think to myself, "All it would take is one blown tire, one swerve, one mistake, and we'd have a massive auto accident on our hands."
Such contemplation and realization of our mortality isn't meant to be a morbid endeavor or make us fearful of leaving our homes. Rather, it should simply cause us to live our lives in a constant gratefulness to God for His security and for our lives. I think it is more difficult to explain not why God allowed some to die in the tornado, but why more people didn't die or were injured. Colossians 1:17 tells us that in Jesus all things hold together; that He is actively maintaining all things; if He were to let go, all things would cease to be.
A contemplation of death helps us to see what a great gift daily life is. The fact that you safely made it to work today is a gift of God. The fact that your home didn't collapse in on you and your family last night is a gift of God. We are mightily and abundantly blessed by Him. When we pray to Him and say cliche phrases like, "Thank you for bringing us here together today," let us stop and reflect on the truth which we are proclaiming. Let us thank God earnestly and acknowledge His grace toward us. Life is a gift and we should daily and hourly worship and thank Him for it!