This blog is dedicated to my beloved grandma orsak. Her life was full of trials and tribulations, but she did not loose sight of what was most important. She loved life and never took anything for granted. I love and miss her dearly. Thank you God for her.

Every now and then we are reminded of how fragile life is and how precious it is. I’ve got reminded of that recently.

What is life? This is a word that can have many meanings. Life can mean pure energy, joy, and happiness. There is also the more scientific meaning which distinguished between living and nonliving matter, such as plants and a pillow. The reason I ask that question is to get a better understanding of the word so you can fully understand why I say “don’t take life for granted”.

In Genesis, it begins with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (v1:1). All throughout Genesis 1, it describes how God created the earth. He left nothing out. He created a vast majority of animals and vegetation. Not one thing was left unseen. We are just ants compared to what God created. We are on this earth, which is in a solar system, which is also in a galaxy, and that galaxy is clustered with other galaxies. We are not even a little speck. It’s just so mind blowing if you think about it (there are videos that I will mention at the end of this blog). Have you ever had an experience where you’ve just been “knocked breathless” by nature? I have and I just tend to stand there, eyes wide open, jaw dropped, and in awe because I have witnessed the glory of God. It is so breathtaking. For me, no picture can ever compare to the “real deal”. Sometimes I just wanna cry out in praise of Gods creation.

From reading “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, I’ve learned that a caterpillar has 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head. The average elm tree has approximately 6 million leaves on it. And our own heart generates enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 feet. Listen, God didn’t have to make hundreds of different kinds of bananas, but He did. Same goes for trees, they have a large number of species. Also think about how plants are able to defy gravity by drawing water upward from the ground. That’s pretty sick. Think about all of the hairs on your head. God knows the exact number of hairs on your head right now. It’s marvelous! This all shows how diverse and creative our God is.

Man I kind of went off track a bit but let me get back to what I was trying to say. Your life if priceless. There is a reason you are here. No other person has gone through EXACTLY what you have been through, whether it’s good or bad. Your life is precious and it’s adored by many. We all tend to complain about how we’ve only had 5 hours of sleep, or how we haven’t been able to get the latest technology (sorry only thing I could think of right now). It’s so easy to get lost in our own little worlds and get consumed with social media. And with that, we are taking things for granted. I have realized recently that I am lucky to be living the life I am. My town has just recently flooded, and my sisters and I are so very lucky to be the few who weren’t affected by it. I’ve taken a step back to see the little things that have made a huge difference in my life. For example, the people in my life. Throughout my freshman year, I’ve met a lot of people. Some of them are good, and some not so good. There are some relationships I wish I could redo and start over, and some I wish didn’t happen. But I have learned from it and am thankful for all of the experiences because it has made me who I am right now.

The main reason why I wanted to write this blog is because I have a great fear of losing the ones I love. I don’t like seeing them struggle and in pain. I don’t like seeing them drink their life away, or if they take drugs, I don’t want them to die from it. It’s very sad to see the life they are living. I don’t know if anyone out there is living that kind of life, but here is a confession. I have lived that life, I’ve gone through it. My mind wasn’t in the right state and I was quite sad. I’m being completely vulnerable right now, I lost sight of God and what He wanted from me. One day I realized that the life I was living wasn’t what I wanted to be known as. I kept asking myself, “what happened to the old me?” and “why am I acting this way?”. I had to dive deep and just take a break with everything. (p.s. I’m literally crying rn because this is very hard to talk about but im tryna be open with you guys). But hey, I’m in a good spot right now. I am growing and worshiping God daily. Ever since then, my perspective has changed and I just see life so much clearer. So if anyone is in that spot they just can’t get out of, talk to me. I’m here. This world is negative and is rough, but it is also a God-filled world and it’s beauty cannot compare.

Okay so umm I got off track I think on every paragraph but oh well. Please just don’t take the life you have for granted because you only get one. There are no redos, if there were I probably would be somewhere else right now. Enjoy the fresh air when you get it. Enjoy the sun hitting your back this summer because trust me, you will want it back when it becomes winter again. I’m sorry for this long unorganized blog but it is what is it! Stay safe and love you all.

Growth is uncomfortable because you’ve never been here before – you’ve never been this version of you. So give yourself a little grace a breath through it.

Kristin Lohr

Love,

Emily

There are a couple of videos I recommend watching, both are by Francis Chan. The first one puts us into perspective, showing how small we really are. The second compares our life to eternity. Both are amazing and are short so I really recommend watching them. (they are down below)