This is a long one but if you can make it through....

Sitting down to write a tribute or a reflection of this past week and these past nineteen years for that matter, I don't even know where to begin. It stirs a lot of different emotions and thoughts.

This week started out rough and is still not over. As America watched John and Kate separate, our hearts broke for the family. Yes they have become part of the statistic but we all hoped that they wouldn't. My plea is that they don't have to become that. TLC decided to stop airing John and Kate plus 8 until August and well, it looks like that chapter is over. I don't quite understand where the excitement of the change that John spoke of comes from or why they claim they are doing it for their kids. Every other word is about their kids but what about their marriage?

Following this, as a South Carolinian, we were informed that our governor was having an affair in Argentina. Of course there were mixed emotions about his disappearance, humor and curiosity, whatever the motives. Putting politics aside, I'm pretty sure that if the governor was needed somebody would have been available to oversee the necessary measures to either step in and/or inform the governor, the outcome is sad. It is not my place to judge and I hope that the media will handle it with some sort of respect. Sanford recalled that it started as a friendship, it digressed from there. I almost don't even want to read or hear about it anymore. It is enough to know that he did it and it is awful, but I don't want to read the emails and know all the details. One act and the consequences are dire, grave, and life-altering not only for him, but for everyone involved.

Emotions from these two stories, well as a young women it brings fear. You wonder who you can trust anymore and marriage has become, though it always has been, a daily battle. It takes work to be a success and maybe now it will be taken a bit more seriously. Now America is shocked if you are married to a member of the opposite sex and if it is both you and your spouse's only marriage.

With the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson well again, where do you begin. Losing anyone is a horrendous, tragedy that no-one every gets over. Farrah battled cancer like so many others and lost. It makes you wonder what you will be remembered for. A smile, an "angel", a heart, a discovery, a sacrifice, an unknown soldier, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, and the list goes on. One life, one death. Did she make it count? And Michael Jackson just passed a physical and died the next day. His story is not the only one that is peculiar. What about the chef who found out he had cancer and died days later. Or the lady who missed Air France Flight 447 and died in a car wreck on the way home? When it's your time to go, you have to go. Jackson was remembered for his infamous Thriller music video and his court appearances. He had fun but like many, he lived a troubled life. Farrah similarly went through divorce and a son who is spending much of his life in prison. You just never know what someone is going through.

With the death of Heath Ledger I didn't know if I could ever bring myself to watch The Dark Knight because he's dead. When he dies in the movie, he's not coming back to life. It hits too close to home and too close to real life. Along those lines, I don't think we'll ever be able to do those fun Thriller steps without a hint of sadness.

So where do these deaths, along with the impending wars in Iran and the nuclear threats of North Korea, leave a young woman. Well, first it puts a new perspective on life. I remember being so upset about the election of Obama not for reasons that most would think but mainly because I didn't entirely know what he stood for, how he would handle the issues of our day. What I did know, well, not all of it seemed good. Yes, I am glad we now have a black president as part of our history, but the fact that his race was even a question and a debate shows that the racial issues, whatever side, have not dissolved. With this I learned that God is in control.

Now I have to take this many steps further. Life and death are in His hands and for a nation and a world that is looking for hope in a hopeless era, be it the economy or wars, the Word needs to spread. People are dying for justice, literally, after the elections in Iran and as soldiers fight to establish and maintain peace in Iraq. Even in the Orange Revolution, the people were not going to put up with injustice and again, lives were lost for freedom. People need to know that "God knows the plans He has for them, plans to prosper and not to harm them (Jeremiah 29:11)." Just like after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, hearts are hungry. People want some sort of morals and justice in the world and I think it is time that the church steps up. It's time for me to take those extra five minutes at the Walmart cash register and ask the clerk how their day is. I need to share a smile. I need to spend less time in the world of the internet speculating and thinking about life, thinking about what should have happened and more time making things happen. I need to show the unfathomable love of Jesus in the New Testament.

How have I gotten to this point anyway. When did I stop asking people how they were doing and instead relied on their hourly face book status update. When did I feel more comfortable texting someone than calling them. Being texting buddies does not result in a life-long relationship. Who knows, maybe this face book era is just a fad and maybe when we have nothing left, we'll go back to making house calls and looking forward to the milkshake at the drive-in. I know this has been said by many before but maybe now, we are all really feeling it and the realization and effects of the internet age are settling in.

Suddenly passing my biology test or missing a movie isn't that important. Listening to a friend who can't find a job to pay for college becomes top priority. Being at the hospital with a loved one or sitting next to your best friend as she watches her dad battle cancer is where I should be. Maybe I'll study in my free time and strive for an 'A' because it's something I can do and though it may go unnoticed, the little things can become big triumphs. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17)."

I know it will take a decision and following through. I am just as addicted to face book as the next person, but I think it's time to make a change. This may seem hypocritical as I'm posting this, but I'm planning and hoping to start now. Don't get me wrong, they can be beneficial and I certainly don't mean to stop using it all together. It's just that sometimes I guess I lose sight of my priorities. I'm a nineteen year old girl living in a world of uncertainty. It's time to start living and watch the miracles of God's redemption.


P.S. I was looking for a particular verse and couldn't find it but I did find these....

Titus 3:9-11
Ephesians 5:11-12
2 Peter 3