Such a beautiful day. The sky is blue, the sun bright and warm, the clouds white and fluffy. Every thing looks green and fresh from all the rain’s nitrogen. Somehow the day following a storm or tragedy is always beautiful. Perhaps that’s God’s way of giving us hope for tomorrow.

Prayers for those who lost loved ones and their homes in last night tornadoes. I’ve experienced the heartbreak of losing loved ones but I can’t imagine the heartache of having your home destroyed, your cherished possessions scattered in the wind. God never promised life would be easy but we weather these trying times through prayerful faith. In scripture from John 16:33 we read, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” When life is hard, pray and search for God’s grace. Suffering is an inescapable part of life and God promises to be there for us during our struggles.

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of my daughter’s death in a car wreck at age 17. She was a freshman in college at Snead State Community College in Boaz. She was driving to visit a friend near Boaz when she ran off the edge of the highway on a horseshoe curve. The state trooper told us she jerked the car back on the road too abruptly. The car flipped three times, a fence post came through the windshield and struck her in chest killing her instantly.

Twenty three years later and the pain still lingers in my heart as fresh as that moment of that day. You never “get over” the pain of losing a child, you just learn in your own way and in your own time how to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking through life. You also learn after many, many years how to live with the pain. You not only have to mourn the child but all the wishes you had for that child, all the family moments that child will be absent from. The death of a child is a heart wrenching moment and walking back into a life with light and joy takes many years. I would not wish that pain on my worst enemy. I think Eric Miller sums up a child’s death so accurately — “I feel the weight of these years she will never have and they may yet crush me.”

Been thinking about God’s footsteps and how he marches through our daily lives. Sometimes he quietly observes us in the background of our lives, dressed in a long overcoat with the coattails almost dragging the ground. Sometimes we reach out to catch his coattails, letting him drag us through the day’s darkness, hoping he leads us into the light. We anticipate his coming when we’re deep in our prayers asking for help with our worries. Sometimes he whispers words of wisdom in our prayers and sometimes he stomps by trying to wake us up in our faithfulness. They way the world is behaving now I can see God stomping around and pushing those off his coattails who are not genuine in their Christinas faith, those trying to catch and ride his coattails into heaven.

Those who truly honor God in their hearts will receive eternal life. We can’t piggyback our way into heaven or ride God’s coattails to the pearly gates. We have to have walked a righteous path, an intentional way of life full of kindness and love for each other, modeling our life on Jesus’ teachings. God has a plan for our lives and when we walk in faith with God we will fulfill God’s plan for our lives.

We’ve all heard this a thousand times — “Life is too short, so live it to the fullest.” James 4:14 reads, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” As I approach another birthday, I realize how fast life really does pass. Life is full of sadness, life is full of surprises, and life is full of beauty and truth. Every moment of life is precious. Tomorrow is never promised and yesterday is gone forever. We need to appreciate every day and live it to the fullest. Do what makes you happy. Surround yourself with people who make you smile and make you laugh. And again, do what makes you happy. And love as long as you live.

“Life is short, and every moment is precious.” — Gad Saad