"Spirit lead me where my trust is without bordersLet me walk upon the watersWherever You would call meTake me deeper than my feet could ever wanderAnd my faith will be made strongerIn the presence of my Savior"
Over the past few months I’ve been reminded on a number of
occasions how precious life is, how quickly life can change and what it means
to live life to the fullest.
I don’t think people will remember us for how much money we
had or how if we had the latest and greatest gadgets. They won’t remember us
for always having the cleanest house or car or how good we were at our jobs.
In the end, I believe we will be remembered for our hearts,
for how much we loved and how much we cared for the people who surround us.
In July I had the amazing honor of meeting Jennifer
Hutcheson. Jennifer was a beautiful person inside and out. Her spirit was full
of life and her smile could light up a room. (Read Jennifer's story here)
Here’s the thing, Jennifer had so many reasons, so many
excuses, to be mad, sad or frustrated. But she wasn’t.
For the past nine years Jennifer was fighting cancer. She
had lost a lot of weight. She was in constant pain. She was weak and her hair
had fallen out several times.
Jennifer was strong, she was a fighting and a warrior. And
she could teach us all a lot about life.
After waiting five years to marry the love of her life, she
became Mrs. Jennifer Korth on July 6 with close family and friends. She said
her I do’s in a wheelchair, but she never looked more beautiful.
On Aug. 6 Jennifer passed away. But a few things she said in
July stuck with me.
Her advice for life was very simple.
"Try not to be so wound up on the stuff you're going
through. Everybody thinks what they're going through is the worst thing. Try to
do something good for someone else. The way I live is I want for myself just to
leave the world better than it was before. I don't know if I've done that, but
I'm trying," she said. "Smile, even when it sucks. I smile to make
other people's day change.
"Just remember, other people are going through stuff
around you."
I hope that I am willing to take risks in my life that when
an opportunity to live an extraordinary life comes my way, I will say yes
without hesitation.
Can you imagine what life would be like if we believed that
life is meant for so much more than is what in front of our eyes? If we
believed that we could do things so much bigger than our imaginations?
We were never created to live ordinary lives. We were not
created to sit by and make our lives better when people are out there
suffering. We were put here on this earth to serve and to work together to make
life amazing and filled with love.
Life will never be perfect. Neither will we.
But I hope that I can look at each and every day and know
that I didn’t just “get through it.” I hope each day I wake up and ask how can
I impact those I will come in contact with.
Because what is the point of living if it’s only to make
ourselves happy?
