Today I had a birthday dinner with 2 out of 3 siblings and my bro in law and my bestie and my mom.  It was a good time. It meant a lot to me this year to just be around them I was missing my lil brother but prayerfully I will see him soon. The reason it means a lot to me this year , is because as the years pass and I become more and more prepared for missions I value the time I have with loved ones more. Because I never know when it will be my last birthday with them. Also losing my father spontaneously at 21  pushed me to always let those I love know how much I love them and spend time with them.  And then when my grandma died ( a death we were not prepared for ) I began to realize even more so that no matter what people do or have done , when they die , it is so much easier and better  to remember the good , the laughter, the joy that is what stuck by me after both of those deaths. And I have been to many funerals, almost every year of my adult life I have had to visit loved ones in hospitals or attend a funeral and as I get older I realize , it is the time we spend , sitting next to the hospital bed, the time we spend reading a child a book before bed, it is the time we spend going shopping for baby clothes or wedding dresses with friends, it is those little moments that so many of us take for granted.

    It is those little moments that mend relationships and secure bonds. When you can sit on a couch with a friend and watch Netflix all day with saying very little words, or walk around balboa checking out art and talking about your dreams, and go house hunting and look at homes you will probably never afford with your bestie. The moments you spend hours at the beach with a friend and go on wild adventures and explore and go on a road trip with a couple of bucks and spend the night at the union station because you didnt want to pay for a hotel after a concert in los angeles.  And the time when you entire family spends a week in big bear for the holidays and you get to cook for about 20 people and actually like it! Or the time you spend in long beach with your big sis and bestie and spend 100 dollars on dinner just for yourself but have one of the best weekends in your life. Or the time you spend your 21st bday on the space needle with fam. Or go laser tagging with my bros . Scrapbook with your nieces. Or have all night prayers with friends at the beach. And study the bible at Panera just because with your girlie. These moments are priceless. These are the moments you will remember the most. These are the moments you will want to remember when that person dies or leaves for whatever reason.The moments you made it , the moments you answered the call, the moments you were on time.  Because not all of us are that lucky or blessed, to say we were there, and there was a moment I was too late, when my father died, I missed his facebook message, not because I was sick or tired or had something I had to do  , but because I thought I had all the time in the world  to message him back. I had all the time in the world to go visit him in montana. I didn’t . And every moment I can remember of him are good moments loving moments , lessons learned. I don’t remember the reasons I was upset or mad too much I don’t care too.

   So why am I rambling on about this, because I hope someone is touched and impacted by this experience and testimony. That when they think partying or getting high with so called  friends and getting drunk and not remembering their birthday the next day  or something to the equivalent  is more important than a small dinner with the ones who love them dear. Or when  a parent or loved one you are estranged with or mad at reaches out to you and you think you can blow them off for a week and message them back. Or when there is someone you love , and they are unaware that you do  because you THINK you have all the time in the world to tell them. The truth is , you don’t. You don’t know the day nor the time, that Jesus is coming back , and the same goes for the day that anyone is leaving the earth too. So if you have something pressing on your heart to say or do , do it  NOW. If you have an opportunity to love, don’t postpone it do it now. If you have dreams and passions , don’t wait to pursue them. If you have a purpose , don’t think you have years to accomplish it. Jesus was 30 when He started His ministry on earth , 33 when He finished with the earthly ministry.  His apostles all finished their ministry within about 3 years as well, You don’t have a lot of time, neither do I . That is why I quit my job in 2016 , that is why I do full time ministry and devote all my time and days to the Lord and do my best to follow His will,  that is why I blog , that is why I write until I can not write anymore, and I will go on missions until God says I am done.

                                                                                               By Diana M Jordan ♥