No Guarantees in Life

I hesitate to write this blog entry for the sake of it being new and not wanting to position myself as a Debbie Downer (no offense to anyone named Debbie) from the onset. However I want to share what happened this week along with some of the things its caused me to ponder in hopes that perhaps it may help and inspire something within you too.

Early Monday morning I received a call from one of my best friends, Stephanie, telling me that Jimmy died in a diving accident off the coast of La Jolla.  It's lobster season, his favorite time of the year, so he had been going out to catch "bugs" 2 or 3 times a week. Jimmy was the first man to capture Stephanie's heart and make her feel special, and they were in a relationship as of January 2011.  I got to know Jimmy through her and thought he was a great guy.  I had even anticipated having some of that fresh lobster with them that weekend.

In a separate story, another friend called a couple days later to share the news that he and his wife, a good friend of mine as well, lost their baby. This after having spent countless hours in prayer and hopeful expectation and thousands of dollars in IVF treatments and preparation for pregnancy. They are heartbroken.

I could share other stories but I digress in order to simply say this: There are no guarantees in life. Not even a free lobster dinner.  But really, nothing is guaranteed! Jobs aren't guaranteed, money isn't guaranteed, the ability to have children and/or see them grow up isn't guaranteed, strong marriages aren't guaranteed.  The list goes on.

The only thing that is most certainly guaranteed is that I can choose have an unwavering, deeply anchored hope in the Lord.  No one and no thing can take that away from me.  I believe God is guaranteed. He never changes and is steadily faithful forever.

Although I don't have it all sorted out, here are a few concluding thoughts these events have brought me to:
1. Remember to live boldly.  Live on purpose. Live for God.
This is all the more reason for me to run head on into this next chapter of my life!

2. Tell important people in your life you care about them.  It's so easy to overlook this and something I often forget to do.  Treasure them for who they are, and enjoy the riches of friendships and family.

3. Remember to stop or pause to enjoy small moments in life, even the little things. For me it's laughter, or a smile, or the moon and stars, or a gorgeous sunset. The smallest things are often the most fulfilling things.

Needless to say my road trip to Nashville has been delayed a few days so I could attend the services for Jimmy and stand in support of my friend Stephanie who is also roadtripin' it with me as I embark on this journey.

Thanks for reading :)