Live, Love, Life

This week has been hard on me emotionally.

I lost a second cousin unexpectedly this weekend. He was 75, and the picture of health, but died unexpectedly after a small surgery. He had a blood clot & died suddenly.

It's not that we were particularly close, but death jolts me. I know that I'm scared of it - I know many of my friends say they are not, but I don't understand that. I think more than fear, it's the reality of knowing that our lives that we are blessed to live every day can be over in a blink of an eye. Death can come in a long, labor intensive struggle, or it can come quickly and without warning.

I'm a planner. I like a routine. My family depends on my routines! Without them our house does not function. That being said, I'm not so sure I want to plan for that particular event in my life. I'm not sure I want to know about it in advance.

I'm a Christian, and I know that heaven exists and I feel confident that I will see heaven when I die. (Just thought I'd put a little disclaimer there.) I've had Christian friends not understand my fear of death - I mean - if you know you are going to heaven, whats to fear?? Plenty. Getting dead is one! And the great unknown - the mystery of it - it scares me.

I've thought about it a lot over the past few days. The death of a person close to me always makes me want to right my wrongs. Death always makes me want to live life to the fullest. Not necessarily sky diving or deep sea diving - but loving. Loving my family, friends and this wondrous earth that our God created for us.

Give some extra love this week. Give a hug, a smile, an encouraging word or some time to someone who needs it. Be a friend. Do it again the next week, and the week after that, and the week after that.....