Death is inevitable but sneaky

            
Death is inevitable but sometimes it sneaks up like an unwanted guest and makes your life permanently DIFFERENT but hold on!... your life is not over.  Jesus told us in this world we would have trouble and death is what every living thing experiences. 

(“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 New International Version (NIV))

Working as a photographer in Florida Women's Hospital, I've been with multiple families experiencing the death of a loved one some were mothers that had lost their babies and another was photographing a hospital patient's wedding who was at the end of his life. 

God gave me to strength to hold and also photograph these babies that had past. 

 It was heartbreaking to do that but an honor, it is heartbreaking to lose a child, a mother, father, grandmother, a loved one, and with experiencing that it's hard to keep walking... but you and I must keep walking. 

It IS a reality that someday all of us will die and sometimes people we love or we ourselves could be the next one to die and sometimes we say, "it wasn't their time"," they died too young", or" it was God's will”... to say it was Gods will or to say that they are in a better place for me isn't comforting. I know that We as people who love God with All of our hearts and do their best to try our best to live how God would want us to live we can have an assurance that we will make it to heaven.

I know through ALL THINGS God is glorified, does it make sense? No! but I know that this is why God allows everything good and bad to happen. Reality is that everyone doesn't go to heaven, and we can't really claim to know that someone went to heaven or not. Is it our hope that that did? Yes, yes and Amen!  But the reality is that we don't know.  We can all try to comfort one another through hard times but the reality is that no one can ever say anything to make it "okay" that someone died. All you can do is be present as much as you can or at least let the person know that you are there for them if they want to talk.

For someone to be married for their whole life or even for a short while and then suddenly you become single, that is beyond heartbreaking, it can be crushing, and it can become like pressure so heavy that God is the only one that can carry you through. You literally have to ask God to help you learn to live again without the presence of that loved one in your life any longer. 

Unexpected death gives you no time to say goodbye to your loved ones or change your life the way you see that it should be especially if we are wanting to wallow in our sin a little longer before we change. We don't have a tomorrow that is why the bible says that today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow. Right now, is the time to say yes to God and allow him to lead you the way that He thinks that you should go.  

 Dealing with death is difficult especially when you experience it close to home, and there is no getting over it, but there is getting through it day by day, and if it takes God to carry you through months/ years that's what He will do. There will be a day where you can walk again, hold hands with God and continue to let him lead you through life. 

Death entered this world because of the consequence of sin, and not one of us will escape it, nor should we be afraid of it. I am not afraid because being with Jesus would be better by far because these emotions that we deal with here on this earth are so out of control at times and can make us confused on how we really feel because our feelings are like shifting sands... Paul said to Live is Christ, to die is gain, therefore we should strive to live as Christ right now today so that we can truly gain Heaven when we die and not just hope that we gain Heaven. (For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. 23I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. 24But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." Philippians 1:21-24)

Death is something fresh and recent that I have experienced within my own family as well as my extended family and I must tell myself to feel something and not become numb, not to block people out to keep breathing and keep walking because God is with me. So today I'm telling you to feel, breathe, and keep pushing forward not just for myself or yourself but for others that you see or interact with every day. 

Death can change the trajectory of life to whether it is you or a loved one's death, it changes things and we all wish that it wasn't something that we had to face. So, let's face it together but don't forget to breathe and take God's hand.