Jay

A few weeks ago, I heard a good family friend Jay was going to have heart surgery for a heart condition he's had since he was born. Yesterday, I found out he passed away after the surgery. He was 28. I remember the last time I saw him, about a year ago. He was so full of life and hope. And it reminded me of two things:

1) Life is short and God calls us to live in the moments He gives us each day, planning for the future, but appreciating the present because we don't know what the future will hold. As I look back at my life a year ago and my life now, I've certainly been learning this lesson. There have been times in the past when I've focused so much on the future that I've forgotten to see the things God has planned for me that day. Slowing down can be a good thing. I guess that's what the phrase "Stop and smell the roses" is all about.

2) Faith, hope, and love are not products of our circumstances. Some of the people I know with the strongest faith, the most abounding hope, and endless love are people who have been through the toughest situations. As John Piper says, "Joy in affliction is rooted in the hope of resurrection, but our experience of suffering also deepens the root of that hope."

Jay will be missed, but he is rejoicing with his Savior now.