A serious post from a serious feeling dude.

Today I went to the funeral of a family friend. Although the circumstances were somewhat tragic--she died of cancer after a two year battle at the young age of 27--it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have ever experienced. It has often been said that the most telling sign of true friendship is the way in which one's friends act when one is not around. Today was a huge testament to the fact that Rosie was a true friend. There were around 700 people gathered in her remembrance. I was struck by many things, but two of them stand out the most to me.

The first of these has to do with her death. If you are reading this blog, and do not believe in God or life after death, when you read, “Although...were somewhat tragic” you probably were thinking, “Wow, this guy is heartless! I would call someone dying at a young age VERY tragic.” That ties into what I was thinking about. One of the most commonly used arguments against the existence of an all-powerful, loving God and life after death are tragedies such as Rosie's death. They ask, How could a loving God let things like this happen? Its a valid argument from an atheist's view; all they see is a pointless life. She didn't really accomplish anything in the eyes of the world. But as Christians, we can see that her life and death were in reality a testament to God's love. He not only gave us the gift of experiencing a beautiful life, he gave her the grace to die a courageous and holy death. But even more importantly, he called her home; he loved her so much, he couldn't bear to wait any longer. So, to sum it up, where all one can see as an atheist is worthlessness and death, we (lucky) Christians see a beautiful testament of God's love....Its just great being Christian, isn't it? 

The second thing that struck me has to do with the numbers at the funeral. I didn't know Rosie very well, but from what I could tell she wasn't “the cool kid.” She wasn't always wearing the latest cloths, she wasn't the focal point of the party; she didn't crave popularity and the spotlight. She was more concerned with her interior beauty than her exterior, she lovingly cared about others rather than getting all the attention, and, through that loving care, really touched the lives of countless people. That made me think how worthless being the “cool kid” really is. I mean, I wonder how many people will go to Robert Downy Jr. or Brad Pitt's funeral out of real love...10? 20? 30? I highly doubt there would be 700. Or how do their friends act towards them when they're not around? Let's just say it would be interesting to find out. 

R.I.P. Rosie. You are in the thoughts and prayers of many!

Anyway. My sermon is over, so you can zone back in now. Sorry if you logged-on looking for something to laugh at, but I'm in a serious mood right now...I'll have something for you tomorrow. ;)



And now for a picture....

...That's yours truly with two people from Ireland that I met while on a hike friend on left and sister on left in Yosemite last month. Sorry, but I still haven't transferred the pictures to my love.

-Thomas

Author's note: What I said are my beliefs, and I understand that they are contrary to the beliefs of others. I did not write this to hurt or offend anyone and I hope that none who read this are.