passionfruit

i struggled with what to write about tonite. normally, my postings come to me pretty early in the day, but work and family constraints don't allow me to put pen to paper--or, finger to key--until late in the evening. my head was swimming today--i woke up this morning with my mind still staid on what was on it right before i lay down last nite--life, death, mortality, and immortality. i went to church and was recharged and rejuvenated with an on-time Word about redemption after making wrong choices. after church, i lunched with a girlfriend and we talked about everything under the sun dealing with relationships/commitment. this evening, i caught up with an old friend for 2 hours about work, school, kids, and love.

so, with all of those interactions, you'd think that i'd be inspired, right? well, i am...finally..but it's to write a post that i've been avoiding...

a great political champion and role model to many a young Black girl growing up in Cleveland during the 1990's, passed away tragically this week. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a force to be reckoned with, a tireless fighter for equal rights, and just an all around wonderful person with a beautiful spirit, loved by all. i join her family, her loved ones, and my close Delta friends in mourning her untimely death.

as i was talking to a friend tonite--a fellow Cleveland native, a child of the 80s and 90s, and one of Stephanie's Sorors--we started talking about passion...about figuring out that one thing (or two or three) that you're passionate about...and doing something about it! Stephanie lived her life in that way, and leaves behind a legacy of commitment to changing the status quo so that ALL might be free. we should all be so blessed to walk on the trail that she blazed for us.

beloved, this life is brief--whether you live to be 33 or 93, it will probably never seem like enough time. let's face it: even though we have faith that our reward is in Heaven, we do enjoy our lives here and we enjoy being with the people we love and doing the things we love. no matter how truthful it may be, consoling someone with "your loved one has gone on to another place" does not take away the sting of death, especially when it happens so suddenly. as a person of faith, i struggle daily with questions about death and dying, and even deal with some...ok, A LOT of.... fear of the unknown. i worry about the inevitable, and i simultaneously celebrate and dread each year older the elders in my family become, as their Golden Years slowly roll along past the scientist-calculated life expectancy. i worry about my Precious Cargo....i worry about my mom....i worry about myself everytime i am away from either.....

as cliches go, "live each day to the fullest" is one of the more popular.... and it is so true. as we've seen over and over and over again with the deaths of famous people...and the not-so-famous people whose names are printed in church bulletins under "bereaved families" each week...we are reminded that this life is brief and tomorrow is unknown. we are reminded that everyday that we wake on this side of eternity, we ought to be thanking and praising God that He gave us another chance to get it right. we ought not to take one moment for granted and waste one second of time because you can get neither back.

and we ought to do the soulwork to figure out, and then go after, our passions, with the hopes that after we leave this earth, there will be fruit left behind.

plant wisely.