Almost 12 months ago I was sitting with David on the couch late one night when he showed me a news alert on his phone. It simply stated “Michael Mosley missing.” It took me a while to register who this was referring to, as the information was completely without context.

Then it dawned on me. Dr. Michael Mosley was a famous UK medical doctor/researcher/tv presenter who was well known for encouraging people to lead healthy lives. He was an advocate for intermittent fasting and I enjoyed watching his shows, reading his books and listening to his podcasts. I immediately searched up the story.

Michael and his wife, Claire, were holidaying on Symi (a small Greek Island) and on the previous day (Wednesday) around 1:30pm he had chosen to leave the beach they were relaxing at with friends to go ‘exploring’ on his way back to where they were staying. On Thursday morning his wife had reported him missing after he had not arrived back and so a search party was formed. He had not taken his phone with him on the initial trip to the beach and it was still at the villa.

This was out of character and there were fears for his wellbeing as he wasn’t equipped for an extended, exposed adventure and the days were forecast to be in the high 30ºC’s. I went to bed worried but expected that when I woke there would be good news. I found it incredibly hard to sleep my mind was so fixated on this situation as if Michael was a close personal friend rather than a media personality I followed.

Eventually sleep came and first thing I checked in the morning was for any news, only to discover that there was still no sign of him or any leads about where he might be. I became more and more fixated with this story and eager for new details from any sources.

One day missing turned to two, then three. His adult children flew to Greece to assist with the search. CCTV captured him walking down the street of the town near to the beach, which helped reduce the land area for scouring but it still raised the question as to where he could be now.

The police engaged sniffer dogs and drones to assist the search. I was checking for news every couple of hours and he was in the forefront of my mind during these days.

Then, on day five, a news item popped up on my feed that a body had been found, and in the hours that followed it was revealed that a media cameraman had seen in some footage he shot while on a boat something that may have been a body, lying crumpled near a wall only metres from a beach bar. He happened to be with the local Mayor who rang the bar manager to check it out. The manager confirmed it was a body, and that it appeared to be Michael. When I read this I was both relieved that he had been found, and devastated that what was feared about his wellbeing was true.

The coroner confirmed that there were no injuries to his body that would indicate he had been attacked or had fallen to that location. Further checking of the CCTV footage from the bar indicated that he had walked to that spot at 3:50pm on Wednesday afternoon and the coroner believed he died at 4:00pm from ‘natural causes’.

It appears that after being seen in the town he took a wrong turn that led him on a challenging walk through rocky terrain in 40º heat. When he made it to within 100m of the beach bar he sat, or collapsed, by the wall and ten minutes later he was gone.

Dr Michael Mosley, health advocate and lifestyle guru, dead at 67.

His wife released a statement thanking all for their efforts and listing some of Michael’s greatest qualities. She mentioned that the family were reassured by the fact that, “He very nearly made it” when all I could think was, “If only he had taken his phone” or “If only he had taken a few more steps”.

While most of the world was shocked and saddened by this story I was terribly impacted and I was not sure why. I didn’t know Michael personally, but I felt that I did as I had listened to all of his “Just One Thing” podcast episodes and watched all of his tv programs.

I had followed many of his suggested small lifestyle changes to improve my health and wellbeing, and was more inclined to do so as he demonstrated that he had made these changes too. He was not one to take uncalculated risks or to make dangerous choices, and yet here he was … dead … a year younger than my dad who had died too soon from cancer.

As the one year anniversary of this event approaches I’ve been exploring why this impacted me so much. I am wondering if it has highlighted the fact that we have no guarantees in life. Michael was doing all the right things for his health, even including going for a walk while on holidays, and yet he still died relatively young.

Sometimes I fall into the trap of searching for certainty in life. For someone who likes to believe they have control over more than what they actually do, I want cast-iron clad guarantees that if I choose a certain path there will be a particular outcome, but the problem is that there isn’t any such guarantee. Accidents happen, sickness happens, tragic outcomes happen no matter who we are.

Michael’s life has been honoured and celebrated in various ways over these previous twelve months. The volume of content he created is just as relevant now as it was before. Friends and family seem to have come to terms with his desire to live well and are choosing to do the same despite his life being cut short in such a tragic way.

Perhaps that is the lesson I need to take away. I have no control over the length of days God has allotted to me (Psalm 139:16), so for however many they are I need to live my best life in ways that honour Him and treats myself and others with love and respect.

Instead of searching for certainty and control I need to choose to relax the grip on something I never really had in the first place which will allow me to grab onto life more fully. Easy to say, harder to do … I can but try. Perhaps you can also?

Be blessed.