Precious Life.

"Jack was killed yesterday in a shooting....."

These were the words I was greeted with Sunday morning as I walked into Sunday school. My heart dropped and then rose into my throat in a matter of seconds. A very, very dear friend of mine used to date this young man and even had a daughter with him before he turned his back on the Lord and ran into the darkness of drugs. Though she no longer dated him and rarely saw him, I knew she still loved him and prayed daily that he would turn from his ways and run back into the arms of Jesus. But he didn't. Any chance he could have had was ripped away from him in a split second. Life was ended in a matter of seconds and what a gaping hole of pain it left behind.

This week I watched the devastation of his life ending so suddenly ripple through my friend and her family. He was family, even though he was lost. My grief for her and her family and his family and friends, I knew could in no way match their grief, and yet I felt like I was living through Jace and the twins' deaths all over again. I felt so helpless and yet I wanted to be a strong tower they could lean on. Watching what death does to someone you love, is the most heartbreaking thing to witness. I've always hated it and always will. 

But watching her reminded me how precious life is. Too often, I see my life as a failure, a speck of dust that could quickly disappear in the sea of other peoples' lives. Something that if I chose to throw away, no one would miss, no one would realize it was gone. 

How wrong I am to think that. Last night proved just how wrong I am in thinking my life doesn't matter. That life isn't a precious gift given to us by our Lord and Savior. 

As I drove to another friend's house to get ready for Jack's funeral, another loved one texted me. I knew without her straight out voicing it that she was contemplating ending her life. In that moment, I felt utterly torn in two. Here I was going to a funeral for a young man who's life had suddenly ended not by choice and my dear friend was trying to end her life by choice. It scared me to death, and suddenly I was split between jumping in my car and frantically driving to see her and going to this funeral to support my dear friend. 

With a pounding heart, I climbed into my friends car to go to the funeral as my heart and soul cried fervently to the Lord to save and rescue my loved one. 

Life. Is. So. Short. So very short. You never know when it can come to a dead halt. Don't waste your life. Don't lose sight of the One who always holds you. Don't lose your grasp on reality. Don't give up on your life no matter how hard it gets. Don't let go of the precious, precious life Jesus has given you. 

Nothing in this life is worth ending the life God has given you. The trials, the devastation, the sadness, the death, the sorrow, the tears, the aches, they are nothing compared to the precious eternal gift that God has given us. 

"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 
2 Corinthians 4:10

Our Sorrows will be turned to joy, even though the loss of a loved one will never go away. Someday the sorrow will dissolve into joy that they no longer live on this world, but dance in the presence of God. 

Live life knowing that this World is not our home, for our home resides in Heaven, but God has placed us on this earth to be a light to everyone around us. We are the messengers, we are His people here to spread the Word in a world being overcome with darkness. But, most of all. 
LIVE. 
Life is not a choice that you can take away, it is a gift. A precious gift, more precious than anything on this earth. You cannot throw it away. You cannot return it. You cannot end it. 
LIVE. 
Be a blessing to those around you. 
Be a light to this dark world. 
Love with your whole heart. 
Treasure the moments you have with loved one. 
Laugh often. 
Dance. 
Be filled with Joy. 
Run to Jesus.
Hold tightly to the Promise He has given us. 
Live life to the Fullest. 
Take those adventures.
Enjoy the little things. 
Bring joy to someone else's life. 
Encourage. 
Fight for the life you have. 
Stand strong in the Lord. 

And most of all, just remember, to live this life that the Lord has given you. Live every heart beat, every mistake, every heartbreak, every sorrow, every joy, every moment of every day. 

Choose Life. 

LIVE.