An Open Letter To A Life-Changer

To the guy whose face and name I knew from friends, and whose story I heard slivers of,

It's been awhile since I heard that you were gone, and though I didn't know you, your death still affected me. See, I remember you standing and sharing your story, saying how you lost your mum and had little in the way of family now. I could only imagine how that must have felt, doing life so alone. You had a great church family and I know you spent Christmas with some wonderful people, but life still must have been hard. I wonder now though, because you must have had a great perspective of Home. While the rest of us based our home and our family on those we live with, and those we are related to, you had no choice but to look to Jesus for family. And maybe you had it right all along, that this place is not home at all, but rather a weak shadow of the Home to come.
I learnt a few things from you and for that I want to say thank you.

Thank you for teaching me that even when there is no one left, Jesus is still enough.

Thank you for teaching me that even when life doesn't go our way, we can still have Faith that knows no end.

Thank you for teaching me it's okay to reach out and rely on other people.

Thank you for teaching me that even in the face of significant loss, we can still live. 

Thank you for teaching me that through it all, it's still okay to smile. 

And thank you for teaching me that life is short. 
It's probably not something you ever meant to teach anyone, but your life and your death taught me that we have to live now. Even in a haze of grief, even in the midst of loneliness, the time to live is right now. The time to serve God is this moment. And no matter how far we've been, it's always the right time to come back.

Thank you.