The Good Life

I am totally, completely obsessed with life. I don't like guns and I'm not thrilled about abortion but the fact that I wake up every morning breathing and (mostly) happy to begin my day should let you know that, to me, living is the most precious gift that we have. Obviously, most people love their life, myself included. However, if you are one of those people who wishes that you life were better or different, you might want to reconsider.

It would be a total downright lie for me to say that I have been around death my whole life, but I have seen more than one person in my life pass away and leave a hole in my heart. When I was eight, Francis Lucille Stallman, my grandmother and best friend (up to that point) passed away from congestive heart failure. I can honestly say it was the worst day of my life. Just knowing that she would no longer be there for me whenever I needed her, like she always had been, left me with tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart that still continue to this day whenever someone brings up her name. It was my first "brush with death" if you will and I've learned that handling death only gets harder the older you become.

Death doesn't just happen to those who are close to us. Last summer, our town football star and all around amazing boy passed away after a brave and heroic year-and-a-half battle with cancer. This boy, who I maybe spoke three words to in my entire life became my instant hero. Not only was he a funny, smart, kind boy who would take the shirt off his back to help you out, but he taught an entire town that anything is possible with hope and the love of God.

As if you needed another reason to love your life, maybe you'd like to know that just last night, in my tiny little town, four boys were in a car accident that has everyone in the community praying on hands and knees. The boys are in the ICU and some don't sound like they are doing too well. One second they were driving down the road and the next they were smashed into a tree. The families of these boys must be in sheer panic. This accident is proving to everyone that life as we know it could change in an instant.

Bottom line? Be thankful for who you are and what you have. No, your life may not be perfect. Yes, there will be challenges, struggles and times that you want to just lie down and give up. The point is that there are too many people in the world that would give anything to be in the condition that your in now. There are too many people in the world who would kill for the things you have and the life that you live. And if you still aren't convinced that your lucky, remember this: the life you have is imperfect, chaotic and maybe even difficult; but it is also amazing, beautiful and has worth, just like the person living it. (:

With Love,
Maria