Cheating "Death"

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Why is it some seem to cheat death? Have you heard this expression? I assume God has more for them and there is a purpose for everything.
 
It could well be said that my father “cheated death” many, many times in his youth. Raised during the depression, he and his friends got their kicks by jumping moving trains, hunting coral snakes and cottonmouths, swiming in the bayou, racing horses bareback at night, driving the family car (at age 9 – and that was before power steering), sniffing gasoline fumes, diving off bridges, and hanging out in the “hobo jungle.”

During his adolescence he was a commercial fisherman who stayed out in the Gulf during the big storms (nearly losing the boat on several occasions), got into barroom brawls, attempted to drink an entire fifth of whisky, and raced motorcross.

Even in his adulthood he had a day when he was nearly killed or maimed three times. First he was on the roof of a building when its antenna was struck by lightning, then a vat of caustic flake erupted and sprayed him all over, and then a lawnmower blade came loose and whizzed past his ankles, missing by six inches.

We’ve never understood why exactly Dad was spared so many times during his reckless life. By all rights, he shouldn’t have made it to age 10. But he will be turning 80 in February, and is working full time and helping out with the grandkids when he’s not. The best we can figure is, God had a very important reason for keeping Dad around. Maybe it was to ensure that my husband and I would come into the Church? I don’t know. But I’m grateful.
 
Interesting topic. My dad (like surf(name removed by moderator)ure’s) also “cheated” death, on a number of occasions. The first, was when he was a boy. He and his younger sister and brother, were all outside during a thunderstorm. All 3 of them were hit by lightning. The youngest, his brother (age 2) was killed. But Dad (and my aunt) survived.

Dad also survived heavy combat, during World War II. He was in the spearhead of the Battle of the Bulge (among others). I think he suffered, at least on some level from “survivor’s guilt”. It is indeed a difficult question… “Why (or how) did I survive, when others did not”.

I’m certainly grateful that my dad survived. Through God’s Mercy to my dad… He also granted me (and my sisters and two grandchildren) the Gift of Life. I guess it is a question which will only be answered in Heaven… in God’s own time. Blessings. 🙂
 
dessert said:
Why is it some seem to cheat death? Have you heard this expression? I assume God has more for them and there is a purpose for everything.
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I don’t believe there is such a thing as cheating death. Death comes to us all when it is God’s plan.
 
I believe “Thistle” has answered you correcty. None of us will cheat death. God has only decided when the right time is for us, and only He has the answer as to why some people have so many “lucky breaks”.
 
“Cheating Death,” is just a figure of speech, like, “Dodging a Bullet.” Neither reflect reality but rather, human emotion.

Jim
 
thistle said:
I don’t believe there is such a thing as cheating death. Death comes to us all when it is God’s plan.
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I took “cheating death” to be just an expression, for when we (or someone we love) has a near brush with death.

I can certainly attest to the fact, that my dear Dad was often bewildered by the fact that he had survived many close calls (psychology sometimes describes this as “survivors guilt”). That was my impression of the OP’s intent, in posting this topic.

Of course, all of us know… that we live our earthly existence according to God’s Plan. That His ultimate Plan, will be worked out in the end. That was never a question, in my mind. But I don’t believe that God “plans” for us to die any other way, except through natural aging… or perhaps illness. The Church teaches the Sanctity of Life… to it’s “natural end”. The key here… is the use of the words “natural end”.

But, sometimes people DO die… because of the presence of sin in the world. Is it God’s “Plan”… for example, that a child is beaten to death by a drunken step-parent? Or that innocent people die because of war, or terrorism? I don’t think so… nope. There are also accidents to consider. Does God “Will” that a anyone is killed in a car accident? Did He “Will” that my little uncle was killed by a bolt of lightning? I don’t believe so.

I think we have to be careful when we speak of God’s Plan… or God’s Will. Because we are only creatures. But we can believe, above all, that God is merciful and loving. Because Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church has revealed this to us. God bless. 🙂
 
Maybe I should have named this, “What is the purpose of life?”

Thank you Marie for sharing your story of your dad. My husband also has some survivor’s guilt from the Nam war.

I think that evil doesn’t get stopped because we aren’t doing our part. I confess there are times I haven’t obeyed the voice of God or my angel saying do this or don’t do this.

You are right we don’t know the time so be ready. Death is suppose to be a natural occurrence for all, not by flood or beating, but it does happen that way. I believe there is more for the survivors to do, in part of God’s plan, so Jesus says don’t focus so much on the dead except to see how they lived a devout life.

Well I think we are tempted right up till the last minute.

here is a quiz just for fun I failed by the way I am not suppose to cross the street.😛
mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=42
 
It’s from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Dore’ did woodcuts for “Inferno”, Paradise Lost", “The Crusades”, “The Divine Comedy”…hundreds more.dore.artpassions.net/
Eventually, in an eerie passage, the ship encounters a ghostly vessel. On board are Death (a skeleton) and the “Night-mare Life-in-Death” (a deathly-pale woman), who are playing dice for the souls of the crew. With a roll of the dice, Death wins the lives of the crew members and Life-in-Death the life of the mariner, a prize she considers more valuable. Her name is a clue as to the mariner’s fate; he will endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his killing of the albatross.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner The woodcut said more about me “cheating death” then words. Tim
 
thistle said:
I’m missing something here. What has a forest scene wth a girl and a deer got to do with the Rime of the Ancient Mariner which is set at sea?
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:confused: I have the cut of “the game is done” which depicts death and the pale lady rolling dice for souls on the ghost ship. I don’t see a “girl and deer”. Maybe their website is mixing up the links because they sell prints, I dunno?
 
TOP said:
:confused: I have the cut of “the game is done” which depicts death and the pale lady rolling dice for souls on the ghost ship. I don’t see a “girl and deer”. Maybe their website is mixing up the links because they sell prints, I dunno?
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Its in post #11 in this thread.
 
lol. In posts 10 & 11 I see a young girl kissing a deer in the forest.
 
I tried deleting cookies thinking the site has a copy protect program or something , but still see “the game is done” in all the images. Curiouser and curiouser.
 
To me it looks like " Bullwinkle " the moose and maybe a girl who is kissing him goodbye. Moose and elk are depicted as very male , in the north and the scene looks like Minnisota, and maybe this is a dream as she is to be like mother land or it was a love he left behind. I could not find it anywhere but I think it is an illustrator that does children’s books, my guess. I did find something on an artist Berry but not really that print. 🤷
 
Thats wacked. Nowhere on this thread do I see that.:confused: Are you all messing with me?
 
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