A Letter to the Church

When even one person dies or becomes seriously ill in the body of Christ, it affects us all. It's like a ripple effect that groans with pain, even for those who knew not the peron who died or became ill. That makes the meaning of "body of Christ" much more real. I've heard that term for over 31 years now and I had an idea what it meant, but now I experienced what it means. Just as when you burn a finger or stub your toe, that particular pain affects my whole body, and until it starts to mend itself, that's all I can think of. The same applies to the mourning and grief of one who has died. Time is what heals in this situation and the scripture that says, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning," is the absolute truth.

The young man who died the other day was only 25. So young with so much life to live. And yet it was cut short for only reasons that God knows. And I think of all the young men and women who end up in prison for the rest of their lives for their own doing and I mourn the waste of a life. And life or living becomes more paramount in my mind. When you're young, you tend to think that you have the whole world in your hands and that you're invincible. When you get older, you realize that none of that is true and you think quite a bit more about life and death and eternity. And you realize that the days we have here are truly short indeed.

I don't mean to be a downer for those who are reading this, but I sincerely believe that we need to examine our lives often to make sure we are living the best way we can. I want to be a blessing to others and live my life as one pleasing unto God. And because that is sometimes so difficult, I pray all the time that God's will would be done in my life.

I know some of you will roll your eyes over that statement, but that's ok. We each have to find our own way in life, and I've found mine. And you're thinking "I wish she would have written something funny instead," but there is a time for every season. I personally would much rather laugh out loud than cry, but that's just not the way life is. I picture in my mind that life is one very long (or perhaps short) road that has hills followed by valleys all along the way. So we're not always sad, but we're not always happy either. Kind of like a roller coaster. Kind of like the moods of someone with bi-polar. Except we're all in the same boat, traveling down this road of life together. A boat traveling down a road. Ok, not a great analogy, but you get the gist.

Love others, be kind to others and be a blessing to others. We just never know when our time on this road comes to an end.