yolo

You only live once. The trending hashtag that American celebrities and teenagers posted for the longest time…this sent a bright message that proclaims the idea that we should take risks in life and live to the fullest. I believe that the center of this hashtag isn’t the concept that we only live ONCE but the idea of LIVING…Nobody here can tell you how long we will be living for or whether or not we will get a chance to see our children graduate from university…

Serve, Love and Be Happy are the three things that came up in my mind recently after witnessing emotion-filled event in my personal life.

Serve those who’ve served you. And serve those you want to serve. Give back and help those who were in your position because that is how you can use your physical abilities to honour God. Recently, a family friend was re-diagnosed with Stage 4 bone marrow, breast and lung cancer. She was given a second chance to live six years ago and she used this past six years of her life in ministry and service to kids. She spoke at women’s conferences, shared her testimony, worked on retreat committees. This woman showed me that God gives her a purpose to live; everything was done for a reason. Despite the fact that she is going through a second round of tough therapies and battles, she stands strong knowing that her life goal is to serve those around her. I believe that this family friend will leave a legacy of service like no other sister-in-Christ I’ve ever seen before.

Love. Speak Love. Tell people you love them and how much you appreciate them for what they’ve done. It sounds dumb and overrated but this kind of appreciation will always be accepted. Recently when my friend’s grandpa passed away, she told me that the one thing she regrets is not telling her grandfather what a great job he did in taking care of her grandmother. Her statement really struck my heart personally because I’ve never thought that physical death can create this kind of regret.

And finally, be happy. I met a new friend on Friday and we were asked to share our highs and lows of our week with that person. When she was sharing, I was utterly astonished at how many terrible things she told me about. It’s a constant struggle even as a teenager to see the ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel. I force myself to think on the brighter side of the problem on the bad days even though the world seems to revolve in the most chaotic motion. Being content isn’t simple and I can compare that to being on a diet. Nobody has ever said that being on a diet is easy, but it is definitely a healthy thing to do. Same concept applies to being content with life.

I don’t really know when God might take me away back to His Kingdom, but I am sure that I’ve lived a satisfied life on earth as a Christian.

~ch

(p.s. this post took me an entire week to write!)