-the end-

i finally laid the book to rest. i don't think i can bring myself to pick it up anytime soon. it reduced me to tears and not in the way a movie did, not in the way hurt and pain did. it was more to that. i felt like i lived her 68 years, all in two days.

i've been reading her biography non stop. prior to that i've been reading whatever information i could lay my hands on her on and off.

i don't even think i can sleep. i gaped in awe.i cried. i stood in shock. such was the person God chose. i'm sorry i did. i expected so much more of her person. i expected some sort of standard..i don't know if it was a moral standard or what but yardsticks are not necessary anymore.God is bigger that i ever thought after reading about her life. possibly bigger than she ever imagined.

i don't think i can ever align any life i know against hers. hers is too unique and beyond comparison. i don't think i can ever speak of anyone again. such is life. its so complex. the intermingling of the frailty of humanity with the almighty omnipotence of a sovereign God. i don't think any amount of words can aptly describe and explain the mystery.

just like how i'll never find anyone with the same fingerprints as mine, i'll never find a character as unique as hers. i still respect her, because she paid the price she deemed it was necessary. i doubt i would ever have the strength to do the same. i'm sure God honored her sacrifice tremendously. it was everything she ever had.

and lately its the topic of sacrifice that has been on my mind. and heart. that sacrifice speaks of love and you cannot love without sacrificing. you just can't. even all the conditions were in perfect place, you'd still have to sacrifice if you truly love. its something love compels you to do. its not determined by circumstances but compelled by love.

the degree of sacrifice is directly related to the degree of love. love always has a funny way of presenting itself plenty of opportunities to sacrifice. perhaps its all for self expression. all for proof that the love is authentic. at the end of the day, its not just the words that are said. its the deeds that are done. love is only love when its been given. you keep it in your heart, its as good as dead.

i can never talk about where i've given, how i've sowed and how i've served again. i can never talk about a ministry again. i can never talk about the pain of giving up anything i love again to obey. i cannot. i'm not even sure why God still loves me. love is truly not a boomerang. He sent all His love towards me but i can only reciprocate with that paltry amount. howthat unreciprocated love must have hurt him...i can't bear to imagine.