Kobe Bryant: A Legend Dies

Aling Anna, aged 100, had been begging the Lord to take her home. Her daily prayers:  “I can’t walk anymore, I am mostly in bed night and day, and my children are having a hard time taking care of me. Lord, I am grateful for my long life, but I ask for your grace of death for me to live forever with you.”

Last month, Aling Anna turned 102, with mind intact. So she continues to talk to the Lord daily—praying for herself, friends and family or whomever she could think of.

Per contra, Kobe Bryant, legend, rich, adored the world over, suddenly died in a helicopter crash at age 41. Just like that.

What’s even more tragic is, his daughter Gianna, aged 13, who was following in his footsteps as a basketball player, was with him. Nine perished in that fatal accident.

Call me strange but Kobe Bryant never figured in my consciousness for years. I was not into sports. But when my husband and I visited kin in the US for three consecutive years beginning in 2016, I was thrown into the “lion’s den.”

I had to roar with his rabid fans or I’d be gored. In every house we visited, the TV sets were glued on basketball—on Kobe Bryant. And I, too, became a fan. 

At his passing, social media posts screamed:

“Nooooooo, Kobe!”

“Devastating news!” 

What will happen tomorrow? “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”  (James 4:14 ESV)

Tomorrow, Aling Anna might wake up still. Kobe’s family and fans will be grieving more deeply.

For today, may this be our prayer: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Photo credit: nypost.com