“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to leave the world a better place, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week has been a week of grief for many people that I am close to. A girl from my sister’s small group suddenly passed away. It was shocking and so sad. I strangely found it bringing back a lot of feelings from the bombing. Thoughts about death. Questions. Why am I still here? Why did Brittney get to go home and I didn’t? Have I done anything productive with these 2 years since I was given another chance? Have I  done anything important? Its so easy to forget that this is not our home. That we might not even be here tomorrow. Things like the bombing, or the death of a young friend bring these truths to the front of our minds. But how quick are we to forget and go on living our lives as we were before. Although I didn’t really know Brittney, I know her friends and I share in their grief. As I listen to this song on repeat, I challenge you to remember how short life really is. How fleeting. True someday all our tears will be washed away. We will be HOME and we will be FREE. But for now…make sure that you are using every moment. Capturing every second. So when God calls you home, you won’t have wasted any of it. Our lives belong to Him. He determines how long our time on earth will be. What will you do with the time you are given?

“I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.” Ann Voskamp

James 4:14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (evaluate the use of time in light of the brevity of life)