I dare say there’s something almost each and every one of us want to do. Something we’ve been wanting to do. But we’re afraid to take that step. Something keeps holding us back.

Is it fear? Fear of the unknown? Fear of taking a chance? Fear of hurting other people? Fear of not being successful? Fear of making a mistake?

It could be something as simple as trying a new hairstyle or hair color which means a striking change from your current look. What if you absolutely hate it!?

But what if you love it, and so does everyone else?

It could be finally leaving the job you’ve been at for a long time and finally opening your own business. You’ve had the plan for years, you’ve saved enough money. And you already have several clients who’ve agreed to work with you. So what’s stopping you? Are you afraid it won’t be successful?

But what if it is?

It could be an opportunity to relocate somewhere you’ve always dreamed of living. Your family and friends are supportive, and your spouse and children are ready to move with you. You have a great job offer there, with a well-known company. It seems to be everything you’ve wanted for so long. But what if you don’t like it, if you aren’t happy?

But what if you are?

Or it could be you’re stuck in a relationship that’s going nowhere. You’re miserably unhappy, and you believe the other person is as well. You know there’s got to be more out there waiting for you, but you’re afraid to take the chance. Your friends have encouraged you to make a break, but you keep hesitating. What if the other person doesn’t agree and wants to keep things the way they are? Do you stay unhappy at the risk of your own happiness or do you finally walk away?

But what if you do and life is better than ever? For both of you?

Or you’ve been dreaming of going back to school and finally finishing your degree that you’re just a few classes short of. But you’re afraid you’re too old and can’t compete with the younger students. Or they’ll make fun of you. Or you won’t be able to learn the material.

But what if you try and graduate with honors?

We’ve all seen the postings on Facebook about standing on a cliff thinking about taking that scary leap into the future.

We think, “What if I fall?”

But Someone Else says, “But my darling, what if you fly?!”

Or the picture of someone at the fork in a road. There are two ways to travel. One looks well worn and quite easy to navigate, rather commonplace and ordinary actually. The other looks a bit bumpy, but in the distance you can sense there’s something exciting and wonderful.

Which path do you take?

Life is a series of taking chances; making decisions. We do it every day. Sometimes the decisions are insignificant and barely impact our world at all. Sometimes they’re very serious, and impact other people’s worlds as well.

Sometimes we may think we made the wrong decision, but in the end, that decision almost always proves to be right; just not always in the way we’d planned.

It’s not totally our plan anyway. Others also impact our decisions. And as they say, “life happens.”

But until we step out of our comfort zone and take that chance, we’ll never know.

If you’re struggling over a decision, don’t keep agonizing over it. You cannot answer all of the “what if’s?” until you do it. As I wrote last week, tomorrow is not promised. And putting off an important decision could mean you never make it at all.

Are you one of those who are struggling with such a decision? One you know you need to make, but that one little bit of uncertainty, that nagging bit of fear, is holding you back.

Fear of the unknown is natural. We all have it. But sometimes it keeps us stuck in a rut; stuck in a place where we don’t really want to be. We can see the results of making that decision, but still…that leap looks so scary.

What if you fall?

But what if you fly into the best part of your life ever?

Our pastor mentioned it several times that morning. In the blink of an eye everything can change. Irreversibly change.

But we really don’t believe it. We don’t think about it.

Until it happens. And we wish so hard…pray so hard that we could take those last few seconds back. But we can’t.

And in the blink of an eye, someone’s world…or many someones’ worlds…has irreversibly changed.

That Sunday morning, we received word about a young man whose world…and his family and friends’ world…had irreversibly changed in the blink of an eye. He had just gotten off work and was riding his motorcycle home when a car suddenly pulled out in front of him. There was no way to stop, and nowhere or no time to swerve out of the way.

Now, some three weeks later he’s still in the hospital in ICU with head injuries (even though he was wearing a helmet), collapsed lungs, pneumonia, broken ribs, finally healing from bleeding from several internal organs, and two broken hips.

He was in an induced coma for over ten days and is finally starting to come around. He’s had multiple surgeries already, and facing many more, and most likely two hip replacements. He will be in the hospital for quite some time and then face a long rehab process. His parents are worried sick and his young daughter, well, you can only imagine.

In the blink of an eye, the course of so many lives changed. Not only this young man who is still fighting for his life, but his family and friends, as well as the driver of the car who pulled out in front of him. Was our young man in a “blind spot” that prevented the driver from seeing him? Was he/she not paying close attention? Did he/she not look carefully enough to see him? Perhaps He/she was momentarily distracted? We just don’t know, and may never know. But the driver has to live the rest of his/her life with the consequences of what happened as well.

Tonight, three weeks later, as I look around me I’m seeing far too many similar instances.

A massive stroke suddenly claimed the life of a friend’s mother in law. Tuesday morning she was fine and planning the rest of her summer; Tuesday afternoon she was fighting for her life. Wednesday evening she was gone.

Another serious stroke has left another friend of ours in ICU fighting for his life. Doctors finally stopped the massive brain bleed with surgery but after four days he is still not totally conscious, the plans he and his wife had made with their young children suddenly put on hold, perhaps permanently.

My sister-in-law suddenly lost her husband a few evenings ago. They had recently returned from a wonderful two week cruise and were talking about a visit to see us and meet our granddaughter.

One of my best friend’s 90+ year old father is back in the hospital fighting sepsis and potential pneumonia.

There are a few more stories as well, just in our circle of friends and family. But I’m not going there right now.

My point is simple. As I’ve said in other blogs, tomorrow is not promised. Ever. We do not know what is in store for us when we wake up each morning. Or when we get a phone call in the middle of the night.

We think we have time to rectify petty squabbles and disagreements; to apologize and start over. They can wait another day or two.

Until that day cannot come any more, because that person you wanted to make amends with is no longer here. In the blink of an eye they’re gone. Forever.

We put off making decisions for our life because we’re afraid, or scared. There’s always tomorrow.

And tomorrow never comes. Someone blinked, and the world changed forever.

We’re all equally guilty. In the time it takes to blink our eyes, lives are being totally and sometimes devastatingly changed.

Tomorrow isn’t promised. Live your life like it’s the last day you’ll have. Take the time to appreciate everyone you love, and tell them you love them. Show them you care.

Because you…or they…may not have tomorrow.