A Man Called Otto: Interrupted Grief (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)

Otto has his suicide planned. His wife is dead, his job eliminated, his community dispersed. He has no reason to continue. But every attempt at ending his life is interrupted by neighbors who need him—a flooded basement, a choking victim, a family that keeps asking for help. Otto's irritation is profound: he cannot even die in peace. Solomon writes there is a time to mourn and a time to dance. Otto is stuck in mourning, wanting to join his beloved wife. But life keeps pulling him back through the small, annoying needs of others. Sometimes God rescues us not through dramatic intervention but through irritating neighbors who will not let us disappear. Purpose often arrives disguised as inconvenience.