Death and all his friends

Death...it seems so unnatural, so wrong somehow that we die. Death, I know is a part of this life, it does not end here though and I think that is why I struggle with every fiber of my being against it. Many Christians would say we need to embrace death as the way to eternity-which is where our hope lies, eternity with Jesus. Yet somehow this rings false for me...God has a calling for me here, a plan, a purpose...I don't view my life here as the end all be all; yet I do believe that it matters how I live, how I embrace this portion of eternity....I got the dreaded call yesterday-I hope you've never had this experience but for those who have, well you understand. I have had several of these calls in my life, three stick with me. When I was six, my mom received a call telling her that my aunt had died. I can still see my mother sobbing in shock sitting on her bed. The sun was shining that day and it should have been a happy day, but death shadowed the sun for a long time after that call...in fact even today I am painfully aware of the effect of suicide on people's lives. I can also say that this particular memory helped to persuade me away from ending my own life 10 years later. The next call was when I was in college, my dad called me to tell me that my grandfather had passed away. I was now the one clutching the phone, sitting on the floor, sobbing with so much pain in my heart I thought I would die. I was grandpa's girl and I could never imagine life without him....life has continued now for almost 11 years without him calling me baby or asking me if I got water on my knee, but even today there is a part of me that feels that absence. And then yesterday a very unexpected phone call from the younger brother of a friend from high school. He said, "Marty passed away yesterday". I had to pull off to the side of the freeway and as traffic zoomed by, my life stood still. I was and am rocked. I haven't seen or heard from Marty in a few years, but he was always at the forefront when I searched on facebook for friends or talked to others from our group...but again we just lost track. I talked to his mom tonight, she has asked me to speak at his memorial service because Marty "had such respect for me", its a hard thing to find out that someone cared so much about you after they're gone-it's even harder to realize that he's such a huge part of my high school and college years. Something I'm learning about death and life from Marty is that you aren't guaranteed tomorrow, that God knows our yesterdays, todays and tomorrows and that I must live this life with eternity always in the forefront of my heart, mind and understanding. Maybe I won't yell at the next old lady who cuts me off in traffic, maybe instead I'll use sign language to call her a donkey's butt(I learned the signs for that from Marty)....I do know that I'm not going to let a day go by without telling my friends and family how much they mean to me...if you're reading this, I love you, I cherish the impact you've had in my life and I pray God's great peace and hope in your lives! Don't be a stranger and don't forget to tell those you care about that they are important to you.
Peace
Korista
Proverbs 3:5-6