I'm currently parked in the side of the road on olive branch road, as I have been for the last 15 minutes. I'm sitting here waiting for a funeral procession to pass. Today, I had forgotten, was the funeral of a young man who passed away over the weekend. He went to my high school, but I didn't know him.
As I was waiting for the procession to pass, I was absentmindedly searching for a song on my iPod, looking up occasionally to see if traffic had cleared. I glanced up again, and was struck by what I saw. It was a young girl in her car, alone. The look on her face was of complete and total heart-wrenching horror. She looked like someone who had absolutely no idea where to go or what to do. Tears glazed her face and her hands gripped the steering wheel for dear life; it was as though that wheel were the only anchor holding her at the moment.
It made me wonder...had he known her? If so, did he know her well? Perhaps it was his girlfriend. Or his best girl friend. I began to watch the procession with interest. The adults bore a weary look upon their faces; it was as though they were simply exhausted with emotion. It was the school-age kids, though whose' faces told the story. Each kid's face held that same look of utter heartbreak and desperation. Desperation for some kind, any kind of answer as to why this happened.
Children are supposed to be the more resilient ones; the ones who bounce back easily after a tragedy. It's part of our youthful essence. But these teenagers that I was witnessing; they looked as though they had lived a thousand lifetimes.
But we must carry our grief. It mustn't shape us, but we must shape it into something that we can deal with. It's the way that our dearly departed loved ones would have wanted it.
I sit back in my parked car and watch the clouds for a moment. They move rapidly across the sky. Time is a forward march...it doesn't stop for anyone or anything. Even though time isn't a static entity; we must value it. Make our choices wisely. Realize that there's always a tomorrow. And not push ourselves to edges we can't come back from.
Life is short, and we must make the most of it. But we also must realize that even though you only have one life to live, you've got to take care of that one you have. It's the only one you're ever going to get. And it's not just your life. It's your mom's, your dad's, your brother's, your best friend's, your pastor's, etc. Everyone you love has a stake in your life.
So take care. You don't want to be that girl, heartbroken, torn up, feeling like the world just might stop turning because you've lost someone you love so deeply.
Live your life, but treat it well. And never forget that there is always, always someone out there who cares enough to worry about you. <3
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