Carpe Diem

This weekend we had a ton of activities!  In one weekend, heck, in each day of the weekend, I've been all over the charts emotionally.  Friday evening we attended the visitation service for Jennifer Harper.  The loss became more even more real to me that day.  We kept it light in the long line to express our condolences to her family.  She was one very loved woman.  My heart was broken to see her husband, mom, dad and brother and finally her little girl.  We are truly blessed to wake up each morning to those we love. 

We ran into a couple from our church on our way outside and got to talking so we all decided to go out to dinner.  I really enjoyed getting to know them better!  It's hard to get to know someone when you only have a few minutes in passing while we're rushing to a class or service at church.

We tried to sleep late on Saturday - but with an almost two year old at home - you'd guess right if you guessed she was up at the same old 6:30am!  Ashlyn had been invited to her teacher's son's birthday party.  Her son is also one of Ashlyn's classmates.  He turned a big old 1 year old!!!  Ashlyn calls him her "baby".  Her teacher says she dotes over her all day long, making sure he has a toy or his paci or his share of snack.  She does not go around kissing just anybody - but she loves her "baby"! 

After the party we went home to change clothes and Lindsey agreed to watch Ashlyn so we could attend Jennifer's funeral.  Our pastor at First Wesleyan officiated at the funeral.  The family allowed him to share selections from letters that Jennifer had written each to her husband and to her daughter.  I was strong until then.  She had written the letters over a year and a half ago.  She didn't know that she would pass suddenly, but she truly understood that she could...that any of us could.  She not only understood, but acted on the precedent that we are not promised the next second here on this earth.  More so, she understood that our lives are not our own.  We've been bought at a price and we belong to the Most High God.  He has a purpose for us and we should be trying to live out that purpose each day.  After the funeral, I had a lot of time to contemplate my every day life.  If today was my last, what would the story they told at my funeral be like.  Now I'm not trying to be morbid - I don't think I'll be dying any time soon, but the reality is...I could...we all could.  As a young person, it's easy for me to procrastinate in beginning to work towards a goal I have or a purpose I feel the Lord has called me for but yet again, and in a very real way, the Lord has reminded me that we should Seize the Day!