Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Life's too short....

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

We have heard this saying a million times.  But what does it really mean?

To me, it means DAILY, HOURLY, MINUTE by MINUTE give those meaningless distractions to the Lord.  Whether it be material things, body image or just busyness...stop obsessing.  How?  You MUST give it o the Lord.  It is the ONLY way...yes the ONLY way to combat these pesky things that separate us from Jesus.

Recently my beautiful friend Elliot lost her battle with ovarian cancer.  While she was fighting for her life, I would go teach my bootcamp classes and think about her.  What Elliot would have given to be able to even set foot in an aerobics class.  To be able to walk, run and jump! Things we take for granted every day.

Elliot really was beautiful.  She was gorgeous!  People were always drawn to her.  But, in the end, it wasn't her outward beauty that people talked about.  It was her inward beauty.  As her father said at her funeral, Elliot did not want people to see her, she wanted them to see Jesus.  WOW.  I can't stop thinking about that statement.  God wants us to use this body HE gave us to further his kingdom, not to further ourselves.  Elliot was such a bright light spreading this message through her darkest times.

One of her best friends also described Elliot as embodying all the fruits of the spirit...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  How amazing to be described that way!  And she was spot on!!  Elliot really did embody all these things. And notice, none of these fruits says anything about wordly things.  All these fruits focus on your heart.  Yes, Elliot was beautiful, but people were drawn to her heart.

In her short life, she touched so many lives.  We need more Elliots in this world.  I challenge you (and me!) to daily thank God for your healthy body.  If your body is not healthy, Elliot would tell you to be thankful and pray in all circumstances because God is ALWAYS good.  Please pray for this sweet family as they start a new chapter in the their lives without their mommy.  But, most of all, let's learn from Elliot to make Jesus our focus and our everything.