I decided to start a blog so that I can post about things that are going on in my life and so that I can also share with others what God has placed on my heart at that time. I have found myself that writing things (typing) can really help me to relieve stress that I tend to keep bottled up until I break. So here I go with my first blog...

I am going to jump on into this and skip all the "basic info" that most people already know. The reason I am writing this blog today is to get some feelings out and let others know that I have been where they are right now. Just this past Sunday, Franklin County High School students lost a very important person in their lives: Matt Walters. I personally never had the oppurtunity to meet this young man- but by everything that people have said about him and the life he lived, I wish I had. I did had the priviledge in high school of getting to know his brother, Andrew, and this mom and dad, Mrs. Andrea and Mr. David. I quickly found out that these people were some of the sweetest, caring, and loving people anyone could ever meet. My heart breaks for them today and for the days ahead of them. Even though I didn't know Matt as well as his brother, mom, or dad I still have found myself mourning for him. 
This is a young man who will never have the oppurtunity to play another football game with the teammates that he loved so much, he will never have the oppurtunity to go hang out with his friends, but more importantly his family and friends will never get the chance in this life to tell him face to face how much they love him. 

My junior year in high school I faced this same tragedy... when the Tueday before prom one of my teammates, best friends, and lady lion sisters was killed in a car wreck on her way to a spring league basketball game. Kaneshia Thomas was someone who would light up the room without saying a word. That smile of hers, the laugh that was oh so loud, and the compassion for others that made everyone love her so much. I remember going to school the next day and I couldn't make myself stay in the classroom with her empty desk sitting there. I couldn't stand the thought that I would never get to tell her I loved her and appreciated her friendship ever again. Little did I know, God was going to use Kaneshia to change my life forever. I sat through a visitation, a funeral and a memorial service later on that month, never imaging that God would speak to me the way He did. Through all the tears, planning of the school memorial service, and struggling with the decision of "do I want to play basketball my senior year in her memory" I heard him loud and clear. At that moment I found my calling in life, to become a funeral director. I knew God was using a horibble situation to tell me what He wanted to do with my life. I knew God had used all of the compassion that I had seen through Kaneshia and wanted me to have that same compassion for other people. He wanted me to help people in a time that I had been through and exerienced. He wanted me to get into a profession that I could use Him to heal others. 

I still think about her every single day. I still wonder why God chose her and had to take her away, but I have realized that I am not going to get those answers, as hard as that is for me to accept. One thing I never have to wonder about is where she is. I never have to wonder is she ok? Is exhausted from running all those down and backs Coach Wilk (Mason) made us run back to back? I know she is is God'd hands and she looks down daily hoping that we will all make it right with God like she did, so we can she her again and hear that laugh that was so unforgettable. 

I know in a time like this we are going to question things and wonder why? We are human and we aren't going to understand God's ways, but we do learn to trust Him. We slowly but surely learn that He knows what He is doing. It may take days, months, or even years but He never fails to let us know that their is purpose in every life he gives and takes. Matt's life was created by God on purpose and for a purpose. Many are going to be hurt, but more than that many are going to be impacted and saved by the life Matt lived. He was an outstanding young man from what I have seen and been told. So, to his family, friends, classmates, and teammates DO NOT let his legacy go in vain. Use his life as an example and use what you saw in him and through him to better yourself and others around you. God is using him and God is going to use you. Be open to what you are hearing from God through it all. And know that you WILL see him again, but that can only be done through Jesus Christ. 

Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."

Olivia