Dedicated to Olivia Spolyar
If you’re reading this, you are a living, breathing human.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, breathing is to live, to exist. This simple explanation is a gift we receive every day. We are alive. We are breathing.
“Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7
God used the breath of life to create us. There’s something, striking, intricate, and brilliant about that. God did not just give us breath; He gave us the breath of life. We were not created merely to exist, but to live.
Recently, I lost a dear friend in a tragic car accident. Olivia was just 17 years old. My sweet friend lived 17 years of exploration, romance, and shining her light to the world. She was given the gift of art and creativity and used it to bring delight to many lives. Her imagination never ceased to astound me. She had the breath of life. She did not merely exist. Olivia lived every day to it’s fullest potential.
Through this loss, God has shown me the value of the precious time we have on this earth. God has revealed the true meaning of every breath we breathe and every moment we live. More than ever, I have understood and challenged myself to be intentional about everything I do. We do not know how much time we have on this precious earth. It is my greatest hope in life that others will love Jesus because of the way I live.
I leave you with these questions:
You may be breathing, but are you breathing the breath of life?
Are you challenging yourself to be intentional with every moment you are alive?
Are you merely existing or living?
