Thursday morning a few weeks ago was a perfect morning for still hunting deer on my small farm in Wheeler county.  A good heavy dew made walking quiet and an easterly wind allowed me to hunt all the way to my back property line with the wind in my face.  It couldn't have been any more perfect.  By shortly after 7:00 AM, I had seen four does and had come face to face with a big bobcat easing down the firebreak I was on.  Things were looking up.  Things couldn't get any better.  Then my cell phone started vibrating in my pocket.  I normally keep it on for safety sake and usually call back folks who call during hunting hours.  However when I saw it was my wife calling, I knew something was wrong.  One phone call, my wife in tears, changed the day from perfect to a day of sorrow.  She told me that my good friend, Mack Nevil, had died during the night.  It is  still hard to believe.  I had come to know Mack since he had remarried after losing his first wife.  He had married the widow of another good friend.  Mack and Allene attended Eastern Heights Baptist Church where my wife and I are members.  I had come to know Mack and enjoyed his friendship.  Only a few days before his passing, Mack and I had sat and talked for an hour about "big bucks," we had known and "gator" trout we had caught on the coast, and Mack had asked me to take him turkey hunting next spring.  He told me they had been seeing some turkeys on some of his land and that he wanted to go at least one time.  We were laying big plans for the future, and I was looking forward to sharing a cool spring morning with Mack in the turkey woods.  But all that changed in the blink of an eye. 
 
I guess what I am getting around to saying is that no one knows the time or the place we will pass from this life into eternity.  More than planning for the future, we should thoroughly enjoy each day that God gives us, living it to the fullest for our Lord, spending quality time with our loved ones, and knowing for certain that we have, by God's grace, received salvation, having accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior, and are ready to stand before God in judgement.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow, nor even the rest of today, not even our next breath.  My friend and brother in Christ, Mack Nevil, was that kind of man.  He was kind, gentle, and generous to a fault.  He loved his family, particularly his grandkids, and his church family.  He enjoyed having a good time and seeing others enjoy themselves.  He had a passion for the outdoors.  His passing leaves an emptiness in the lives of all that knew him.  We grieved as we laid him to rest, but we rejoiced, knowing that Mack was walking with and talking with the Master in a world of perfect mornings where there is no sorrow or tears.  Good Bye, my friend, until we meet again.
 
Larry Tanner