Learning to live well

Kara Tippetts fighting for the last days of her life

Celebrating life. How many of us do that on a daily basis? I'd venture to say not many. Most of us go through life routinely without giving a second thought to tomorrow but there's no guarantee it will come.

Yesterday, I attended a wedding. It was a wonderful time of celebration. Family and friends had come to share in the joy of the young couple. It was a time filled with laughter and love.

I sat at my table watching the faces of those around me...just watching. I loved seeing the radiant smiles and watching mouths burst into laughter. Joy. Beautiful, happiness overflowing.

Constant conversation filled the room with an electric buzz as people who hadn't seen each other in a long time played catch up. Words were flying right and left. As I watched and listened, I noticed there were a few who sat in the room in corners, lonely. My heart broke for them. As the celebration continued, I realized we were celebrating not only a wedding, but life in general.

As we were driving to the wedding earlier that afternoon, we had passed a cemetery. As I glanced over that way, I noticed a family burying a loved one. As we drove on, I thought deeply about life and death. We were on our way to a wedding to celebrate the lives of those joining together in Holy matrimony while this family was grieving over the loss of someone they loved dearly. Thinking about their grief caused me to think about Kara once again.

Kara Tippetts is an internet friend. A little over 2 years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had the honor of connecting with her a little over 8 months ago, right after I was first diagnosed. She has been a wonderful encourager to me...a mentor...a sister in Christ. Kara has a wonderful gift of writing and she's written a book called The Hardest Peace. It's the story of her journey through stage 4 breast cancer and how her faith has carried her through it. She's fought hard for the past couple of years and now, her weakened body doesn't have much fight left in it. She has been in Hospice care since March 2. She knows her days are numbered and still, even in the midst of pain and suffering, she chooses to honor God by walking with Him in faith. Kara is such an inspiration to me. I've kept up with her story daily through Facebook and through her blog, Mundane Faithfulness. It's evident by the recent posts that Kara's earthly story will soon end.

I watched joy fill the room of the tiny church and at the same time, my heart filled with grief knowing that Kara's family was clinging to every single moment they had left with her. They all know it's coming. Kara and her husband, Jason, have prepared the children to face the day it does come, but that doesn't make it any easier. How do you say goodbye to your best friend? How do you let go of your mother's hand forever? How do you slip quietly out of this chaotic world and into the glorious peace of the next? Kara knows. She's walked with faith from day one. Faith will carry her home.

As the wedding festivities wound down and people began to leave, I noticed each person left smiling. There had been such joy at the wedding. When we got into our car to leave, I noticed headstones in front of us. We'd had to park just in front of the church's cemetery. This jolted me back into thinking about Kara. Soon her family would be burying her but there was going to be a huge difference in her homegoing. Surely, it would be a time filled with grief, but it would also be a time of celebration. Kara's faith would long to rejoice at being fulfilled in her transition from this world into the presence of her Father. The death of a believer is beautiful because we know they are finally home with the Lord. The Bible tell us that the earth is not our home. We're just passing through. And that should give us great peace.

I watched Kara's video when I got home from the wedding. It made me cry because her story is so similar to mine. At the very end of the video, Kara makes a statement that touched my heart deeply.
"...In this today, I get to live well." ~Kara Tippetts

Living well. What does that look like? To me, living well, was clearly defined after I'd received my diagnosis of cancer. God helped me realize that every moment He'd ever given me was precious. I had wasted many of them but from the day of my diagnosis forward, I'd promised Him that I wouldn't waste any more...that I'd count each moment precious and in so doing, I'd learn to live my life well. Kara must have discovered the same thing. It's amazing how being faced with death changes your perspective.

You can learn to live well now. Don't wait for a brush with death to learn this valuable lesson. Love the ones God's placed in your life. Treasure each minute of your day. Don't take things for granted! Life is a precious gift and usually, you only get one chance at getting it right.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch this short video of Kara's life. I pray you can hear the fear and faith in her voice...the faith is so much stronger. I hope you can feel the pain present in her loved ones eyes. I hope you will see what it means to learn to live well.

Every day we have an opportunity to celebrate. We may not have a wedding to attend, but we can celebrate life by celebrating love. God has blessed us with such amazing grace and He has given us the beauty of love through family or friends. Look for things to celebrate. They're all around you. You woke up this morning didn't you? That's something to celebrate!

Watch a short video on Kara's journey

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