What Is Life?

As an aspiring writer, I have to practice my use of words and the English language daily to improve my skill... and just for fun too! One of the ways I do this is through a book that I have that gives me a writing exercise for every day. Today's asked me to answer the question "What is life?" I decided to share it to take a short literary break from the usual blogging tone.

Here follows a short poem I wrote in response:

What Is Life?
Tori Hook

Life is
God's breath
In an early morning breeze,
Scattering dewdrops
Of love and laughter.

Life is
God's tears,
Drumming down into the earth,
Forming tiny imprints,
Where pain can be ignored but not forgotten.

Life is
God's wrath,
Echoing through the skies.
Unable to subdue itself,
It leaves behind a catastrophic trail.

Life is
As long
As a scorching summer day,
As short
As the flicker of a firefly.

Life is
When joy meets tribulation
And no one knows

Who will

Emerge victorious.

Life is

Being given a chance

And making the wrong decision;

Where you learn that

Consequences cannot be bargained away.

Life is

What you choose to make it.

Choose wisely.

Angela

Beautiful baby Angela is the child who first started us on our adoption journey again. We honestly thought that we were done after Levi - until we saw her beautiful face. After prayers and discussion, we decided that we would pursue her adoption.

But Kenya's adoption regulations were difficult. We realized that in order to make Angela, who had Down syndrome, a part of our family, it might be necessary to move to Kenya and live them for up to two years.

It seemed daunting at first, but we were determined. She was meant to be with us.

Then Kenya refused to comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, and so it's adoptions to America were closed.

While we were obviously very sad, we knew that if and when adoptions opened again, she would come to be with us.

Without Angela first opening our eyes to another adoption, we would not have pursued Evan. And I would not have a sister.

But Angela is never going to come and live with us. She will never be my sister. Not here anyway.

Angela has gone to live with her Heavenly father. Where she will not be discriminated against for having Down syndrome. Where she will be loved day and night for all eternity by her Daddy.

While I am devastated that I will never have the joy and privilege of knowing and loving her here. I am overjoyed that she is now in Heaven. Where she will be loved and cherished forever.

I pray that God keeps his arms constantly around her, and lets her know that her family who never got to become her family here on earth cannot wait to meet her in Heaven. She is truly an angel.

Without God

Have you ever thought that without God we are everything we despise?

If God is who He says He is than He is the definition of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

Can you imagine being without any God-given qualities? What if you were devoid of love. You had never experienced joy. You were never at peace. You were impatient at all times. There was never a time that you were kind to your neighbors. You were not a good person. You didn't have faith in God, let alone anyone else. You were rough instead of gentle with people. You never exercised self control, but instead lashed out at any and everyone and gave into temptation always.

Everything that makes you glow, that makes you beautiful, that makes you who you are - gone.

See, when we let God take over our lives, God doesn't just give us salvation, He gives us a new self. Our hearts are replaced with God's and we become like puppets.

If we were without God, our lives would be a blank. No purpose and no direction. Searching mindlessly for something to fill us, we would be overcome with sin and the world. We would be destroyed from the inside out. We would live a painful life and go on to live a painful eternity.

But the reality is that we have God. We have a God who loved us in our brokenness and gave us a part of His own heart. So that instead of hating we can love. Instead of being overcome with sadness, we can be overcome with joy. Instead of being anxious, we can be at peace. Instead of demanding immediate answers, we can be patient. Instead of being cruel to those around us, we can be kind. Instead of being inherently bad, we can be inherently good. Instead of relying on ourselves, we can have faith in God. Instead of acting roughly and inconsiderately around others, we can be gentle and graceful. Instead of falling into temptation, we can exercise self control.

But if our heart has been replaced with God's, how come we still hate? How come we're still overcome with sadness? How come we're still anxious? How come we still demand answers? How come we're still cruel, we're still bad, we still rely on ourselves, act inconsiderately, and fall for temptation?

Yes, God replaced our hearts with His, but that heart is still in a body of the world. The heart is the epicenter of the body, it provides the rest with life. But even the heart cannot erase all the effects of a diseased body. Our bodies are diseased, but God's heart is fighting back. But unless we force our worldly bodies to fight with it, it cannot win.

God's heart has replaced yours. The question is: are you willing to fight alongside it to cure the disease of the flesh?