YOLO! If I could have a dollar for every time I heard that these past few years, I would be one rich woman. This past week, Jesus has really been working with me on that. Before this past summer, I would just take life one day at a time, and not be to worried about it. I thought that I would live until I was old. Until Sept. 1 happened.
On Sept. 1, my contact gave me the grave news that 2 parents and a daughter were killed in a land slide. I grew up with this family and had to enter the grieving process. It was the first time that I actually felt death's sting, and let my tell ya, it hurt. i had no idea what how i was going to react, and what greaving looked like for me. There were times when i would just wonder around trying to figure out what to do, or even how to react or react. One time, i was wondering around having no idea what to do. i decided that i needed to busy…on our off day, so i went to my squad mate and said i was going to do the worst job around the yard: shift sand. i can't express the look she gave my when i declared what i was about to do. Thankfully, she stopped me. My team was amazing and kept trying their hardest to help me, but we all found out that it was going to take a couple days for me to start back at ministry. I had no idea what I was stepping into, and what I was going to be learning. I still don't have an idea!
It really hit me that yes, you do only live once. We all expect to live until we are around 80-100 years old. Not Kiowa. She died 2 days after she turned 18. My time could be tomorrow. Your time could be the next time you step out your door. We don't know when Jesus is going to call us home. I then heard God remind me that I am only here once.
We get one shot at life down here. That's how God made it. These past couple months, God has really been putting love on my heart, and teaching me how to truly love people. He has given me one shot down here to pour myself out to others and share His love. When I heard the news of that family dying, it really hit me. I then questioned have I really been living? Have I been living out the passion that God has given me? Am I truly loving people? If I died tomorrow, would people be able to say that yes, I did live out my faith?
Now what about you? What have you left behind? You only get one life here. God made it that way. We have one shot. One chance. You could live to be 80 to 100, but you could also die tomorrow. What are you leaving behind?
