October 5, 2008
"Set yourselves apart for a holy life. Live a holy life, because I am God, your God. Do what I tell you; live the way I tell you. I am the God who makes you holy." - Leviticus 20: 7-8
I was in Atlanta when I got the call. Someone very close to me, my first love, had been killed. Someone took his life as he was trying to save the life of someone else. Police classified it as "an innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time." Dimera lived only 26 years. As I questioned, and still question, why- I'm beginning to learn what my mother has always said, it's not the old that are leaving here; it's the young ones of us and we have to be ready at a moment's notice.
And because we have to be ready at a moment's notice, it requires a certain lifestyle- one that acknowledges the immediacy of time. It waits for none of us. It doesn't allow us "I'll get right tomorrow" days. We're not afforded "I'll work on it next week" intentions. We have to live for today, praying that God grants us a tomorrow and if He doesn't, we're ready to go. Last week, my friend wrote a devotional entitled "The Most Important Day of Your Life", encouraging us to realize that everyday we're given is the most important day of our lives. It's up to us to choose what we do with it.
I came back from Atlanta and saw one of my living angels, Damon. As I cried about losing Dimera and not understanding God's purpose in this tragedy, he said something I'll never forget. He told me to accept that everyone is placed here to leave here and what matters the most is not how we left but how we lived. When I leave, I want it said that I lived a life of love, happiness, compassion, integrity and belief- in the beauty of people and our potential for greatness.
I am sad. God knows how much I miss him and love him. In eight years, we weathered some very rough storms and taught each other some very valuable lessons. I think I will treasure this one the most: The life I live must be one that whenever and however God calls me, I will be ready.
Sleep well, Punkin. Rest in and with Him- until we meet again.
©BirthRight, 2008
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