Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler

It always disturbed me, how Hedda so readily and and incessantly associated the scent of flowers with death, how someone could pervert the rousing aroma that comes with springtime and twist it into a morbid entity. And yet, last night I found myself involuntarily crinkling my nose as the stench of fresh flowers met it --- the same scent which I'd encountered in the previous wakes I'd attended. The association was too clear, too twisted, even becoming an involuntary reflex. That I myself could readily make that same twisted association, it made me sick.

But on that same night, we smiled upon the life of one who was able to twist a distressing situation into a glorifying one --- a feat far more challenging than the one Hedda, and I, had achieved. His life was an inspiration, and his passing a reminder, that with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm. In his relatively short stay here on earth, he touched many --- both those who were closer to him, and those who watched from a distance. His parents have every reason to be proud of him.

It's easy to take the good things we have in life and look at it in a negative light. It takes far more focus, strength and courage to take our hardships and fixate on the positivity amidst it. But the Lord has abundantly provided His focus, strength and courage for our use. All we need to do is open our hearts to receive it. If a young teenager could do it, then there's no reason we can't. After all, we have the same God, no? (:

 Rest in peace, Ryan, my very first BB buddy.

I don't think I could ever forget you, even if I tried.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

2 Timothy 1:7