(no subject)
I'm part of the grammar_whores community, and let's just say...way too many posts by some people. I was flipping through my friends page, and there were 2.5 pages of ONLY that community's postings. I had to delete them from my friends list. It was all too much for me.
So, my Uncle Ole, who was 83 died today. He had a fairly mild stroke about a week or so ago and was doing better, but he was also battling what they think was cancer...he had a long life, and I think he just finally decided to go home.
It's funny...saying those words, "go home" in the relation to going to Heaven makes me smile. I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy, but I got back from youth camp on Saturday, and I've only posted once, and it wasn't even a real post. Youth camp was good. That phrase, "go home" makes me smile because while we were at camp, we watched this video about the shooting in Fort Worth a few years ago. It was about Susan Jones, 23, and a recent graduate of TCU. She was really involved in mission work and things of that matter...anyway, she was speaking for the youth group at her church 1 day less than 2 months to the date of her passing, she spoke about going to Heaven.
She said that she didn't view the earth as our permanent home. She used the metaphor of going backpacking. You may be gone for a long time, but you know that you're going to get to to home eventually. You know that it's there, so you are given hope in that comfort of home. She said that with our spiritual lives, this life on earth is our backpacking trip. We aren't here for very long...and in the end, we get to go home. What a comforting thought. When my aunt told me about Uncle Ole, my heart was sad, but at the same time, I see happiness in the fact that he is home now, and that he isn't suffering anymore.
And it was so crazy to see Emily's post about the old guy. The old guy who wouldn't change a single thing about his 81 years here for a million dollars, but wouldn't re-live it for 10 million. I think I would be the same way. Sure, in life we are faced with many trials, temptations, fears and hardships, but you always learn from that. You are always given a new life lesson for every difficulty that you overcome. You don't learn life lessons from living in pure happiness, because you learn from your mistakes. If life was perfect, what would you learn? Your life would have no real value, because you'd have no real knowledge of the world that you're living in. This summer I've heard constantly at church, don't waste your life...which is saying...live your life to the fullest. Don't live your life in a way that is essentially meaningless. If you're not making a difference somewhere in this world, than what's the point? We've been given the ability to think, speak, act, react, feel and do so that we can change the environment around us.
Then you're faced with how you want to change the world around you. What do you do so that you don't waste your life? I'd much rather change my world positively, by encouraging people, by loving people, by being genuinely kind to other people, rather than talking about others for the sole purpose of bringing others down. I don't know why I'm getting all meaningful and thoughtful about things...maybe it's because of what we do when someone passes away---or maybe because Emily wrote such an inspiring post, or maybe because of the conversations I've held today, but I don't want my life to be a waste. I want to be someone who makes the difference. I want to be known as the girl who changed her world. I want to be remembered like Susan.
I'll leave with these scenarios:
#1
A married couple lives on the beautiful beaches of Florida. At the age of 55, both have been able to take their retirement on time and have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of their retirement. They live in a gorgeous beach house, with luxary cars, a fancy yacht and travel the world. He plays golf in the mornings and fishes off of his pier in the evenings. She spends the day making her house more beautiful, goes shopping and just enjoys being a woman. Their life continues like this endlessly.
#2
Elise and Rose have been friends for years. Both widows, they have spent the last several years in the Middle East trying to spread God's message. Elise and Rose were both 87 years old when the died. They died in a suicide bombing incident in the Middle East while on their way to a hospital to minister to the people there.
Who's life was wasted?