I woke up this morning with the Latin phrase ” Memento Vivere’ stuck in my head. Memento Vivere means remember to live. I don’t know why this was in my head at 5:30 am when all I wanted to do was fall back asleep. I repeated it a few times and wondered why I thought of this phrase. After all I haven’t taken Latin in a few years and it seems strange to ponder things in Latin.
Since this was the phrase in my head and I wasn’t falling back asleep I decided to make the most of my morning. It is my birthday after all. So I got some Iced Coffee and I got to journaling. As I wrote about what remembering to live means I realized how often in the past I have forgotten to live.
Remembering to live is something I have struggled with for the past ten years since my brother passed away. Even a year ago living seemed impossible. I prayed to God again and again to take me. I didn’t see anyway out of the cycle of addiction and depression except to not be alive.
So in some ways remember to live is a perfect thought for this day. As I reflect on my past year I can’t help but thank God and others for reminding me to live. I can’t believe I made it. I can’t believe I am a quarter of a century old. I can’t believe in 16 days I will have one year sober. I can’t believe in a few months I will leave on The World Race. It’s incredible how far the Lord has brought me in a year. How He rescued me from addiction and depression and gave my life purpose.
Memento Vivere means to keep fighting, keep moving forward, do not quit. It means no matter how hard the road is and how hopeless you may feel there is always hope. It means to get up every morning and Thank God you are alive. It means to do things you never thought possible. Things that are only possible with God leading the way.
Remembering to live doesn’t promise you an easy pain free life. Sobriety has taught me to live and it has been the most painful road I’ve walked. Real life. A life where you live for God involves a lot of pain and sacrifice, but living as the person God called you to be is the only way to experience joy.
So whatever comes your way today Memento Vivere. In good and bad there are always things to be grateful for.
