Face the fact. The time is here...

You know life seems to throw things at you all at once. Your either looking and ready to catch it or you’re not paying attention and as soon as you turn around it smacks you it the face. I don't know what it is about growing up and realizing that your whole life is going to change, but as of right now it doesn't seem like it should be hitting me this soon. It seems like it was just last year when I was out in the beautiful weather playing some childish game that would occupy my mind for a few hours. Or that it was the summer of my freshmen year and I was out with the youth group playing volleyball or having a car wash or even practicing our drama for Fine Arts. These are my favorite memories that I love to come back to and sometimes wish it was still those times. Not just because I didn't have to worry or even pay too much attention to the important things in life, such as a job or thinking about college for gracious sake, but because those are the times I enjoyed the most. Spending time with my best friends, taking trips with the youth, remembering all of the van rides to and from the places we were going, all of the laughs and inside jokes (most in which I don't remember), but those are the times I don't want to slip away. Yes the memory and experience of those times will always be there, but it's not the same as actually being in that moment. Recalling all of these times makes me wish time would just slow down for at least another year. Just one more year in youth, at camp; just one more year of those amazing summers with my best friends and family (church family included). That is all I ask for. But, and yes this is the big but that always gets in the way, if I keep asking for this how long would it be until I face the fact that time does not stop, that I have to face the things that are laid before me and not turn back to the things that once were. This is a major step, not only for me but also for those who are graduating this summer and for those who are losing a best friend, brother or sister because they are going their separate ways. The closer and closer we get to graduation, the more and more I have to stop and think; to remind myself that the time is here. If I can get through this one time and hold myself together, I could take on anything the world throws at me. But first I must take this one major leap, and it starts with Graduation...

The Dying Rose Turns Red

The shade of a rose drips crimson with blood,

While flowing with the steady beat of its heart.

Lying there awaiting its last breath,

It cries out.

--A beautiful rose grazed with the tears of morning.

Shining in the beautiful sun,

Its petals resembling velvet.

And its scent, as sweet as perfume.

An aroma fills the sky,

As the rose sways to the music of the heavens.

Awaiting the great celebration.

The fallen rose, trampled and torn.

Struggling to for a breath,

Searching for the strength to hold on.

--The lush redness shines vibrant.

Dancing in the fields,

Moving to the music of love.

Dwelling in the moment of happiness.

As the last breath approaches,

The memories begin to fade.

And with the final heartbeat,

The love that was shared,

Shines bright.

And the poison of its thorn sets in.

As a sweet gentle, kiss from within,

That shall last a lifetime.