Ten Days

I always thought I would die at a young age.

I can't explain why... it was just a feeling. I thought that I would get to heaven before most people I knew; I honestly never expected to make it this far. Yet here I am, ten days from my twentieth birthday.

Nathan died exactly ten days away from his twentieth birthday. It's strange to think that this could be my last day; any day could be. It's been an awful day, but thinking about eternity has a tendency to put things into perspective...

I'm still here for a reason.

As long as I'm on this planet, God has purposes for my life that I have yet to fulfill. For me, tomorrow and everyday after will be a day that Nathan never got to see. It's strange to realize your own fragility--strange and sobering. Am I living everyday like it could be my last? No, not really, but I'm trying.

I want the people I care about to know that I care about them. I want the world to know Christ. I want what I do today to matter in eternity. When I am called to accountability for what I've done with my life, I want to be able to look around heaven and see faces of people whose lives I've touched.

John Piper said, "My joy grows with every soul that seeks the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Remember, you have one life. That’s all. You were made for God. Don’t waste it." He sums up the purpose of our lives well in his book Don't Waste Your Life: "to live and speak in such a way that the worth of 'Christ crucified' is seen and savored by more and more people."

This is my passion...the beat of my heart.

I desire, more than anything, to take part in God's plan by seeking out lost souls. I want to do life with people, and then I want to do eternal life to the fullest with people.

I believe this was also Nathan's passion. It has been such a blessing for me to be able to look around earth and see the faces of people whose lives he has touched and to know that even if I were to die tonight, I would see them again.

Don't even think about wasting your life--"your one and only precious, God-given life" (Piper).