A year ago today was the last time I saw my best friend. I was home in Virginia for Spring Break and that Saturday I flew back to Nashville. Before I left, Sami came to say goodbye. He gave me a hug, promised he would be back to Nashville to come see me in a couple of weeks, and he told me how proud he was of the woman I have become. Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of his death. Sami died in a car accident that took place that night/early morning of March 10.
I never connected with death because no one I was ever close with had passed away. Sami’s death shook up my entire world. I’ve never experienced such grief. The first few days were the hardest. I was completely heartbroken. I remember lying in bed at night, sobbing into my pillow, and wishing for one more chance to talk to him. I found myself seeking comfort more than ever in God’s loving arms.
Death is inevitable. We’re human. One day, we are all going to die. It’s true….but when we experience the loss of human life, of one of our very own loves…it’s never easy. Even Jesus knew this.
One of the last things Sami and I did together was see Silver Linings Playbook in the theatres that week I was home. The theme of this moving is “finding the silver lining” and “excelsior” which is Latin for ever upward. To find the silver lining means to take all the negative and make something positive of it. That is exactly what God was able to do with Sami’s death for me. Sami’s death made me realize just how short and uncertain life is, and I wanted to pursue the passions God has placed on my heart as soon as possible. Sami’s death is the reason I am here on the World Race today.
I’ve noticed that many times when we as people find some sort of trouble or scheme of negative events in life, we often question God’s motives and ask how He could let something like this happen. The challenges we face in life are far too great for us to handle alone.
The amazing thing about God’s love is that He wants to be there to comfort us. We have the power to find comfort in Him during these times. The choice is ours. We can go through our periods of trials alone, or we can walk with Him in humble steps of dependence.
We always have that choice, but difficulties highlight this decision making process.
So consider it all joy whenever you are enveloped in various trials.
Romans 5:3-5
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
When Sami and I were 19 we both got lip tattoos (sorry mom..probably the first time you’re seeing this) of Faith and Truth. Both of our H’s wore away so we had “fait” and “trut” ….it’s pretty comical. Even through his passing I have something that bonds us forever.
