Now all I see is your face and your smile

A quiet reminder that we’re here just a while

And life is a fragile, dangerous thing

When you think of the pain and injustice it brings

When death shows us his disfigured face

It causes us sorrow, we start losing our faith

But really it’s placing us a little bit closer

To joining our creator, our heavenly father

Death, where is your power? 

You prowl around

seeking to devour

But we have a power much greater than yours,

we have a king who loves and restores

And on that day when he finally returns,

we will watch as your reign

crumbles and burns

For we are not subjects of your wrathful hand,

with GOD on our side we have courage

to stand

To the grave,

I’m not scared, you can roar all you like

And when it’s my turn, I won’t even fight

When you come to me, when you take my last breath

I will see the face of the one who conquered death

On October 18, 2012, one of our senior girls passed away.  She was in the hospital with an infection, she also had sickle cell anemia.  Everyone was expecting her to recover and come back to school in a couple of days.  That morning, however, it was announced that she didn’t make it.  The campus was completely drained of all joy, it was an eerie place.  Rest in Peace, Neema Ojwang, we can’t wait to see you again.  Hopefully it’s soon.

- Jacquie (Another SM here at Maxwell)

This last week it seems has been a week of loss.  Here at Maxwell one of our seniors passed away last Thursday morning.  She had been in the hospital for a few days because she had sickle cell anemia and was being treated for some kind of infection.  She had a beautiful smile and was loved by both the students and the teachers here at Maxwell.  Then I learned this morning that one of the young women that I grew up with was killed in a car accident last night.  This one struck a little closer to home for me.  I cant tell you how many late night conversations and pizza parties my sisters and I have had with her and how many times we all sat up talking.  Trying to make any sense of these things is useless.  The best thing that we can do here is learn.  Learn from this that life is short so don’t take it for granted.  Neither of these girls expected to die and we did not plan on losing them so soon.  We never plan on losing someone in his or her teens.  But the point is that we do not know how much time we will have.  So what are you doing with the time that you have been given?  Is it something that you would be proud of?  Are you just making it through each day, or are you really living it?  What will be said about you when you’re gone?  How much time do you have to make things right?  How much time do you have to truly live?

Now the sad thing is this.  How many will take this in?  Say it’s a sad story and then continue on as if it’s all insignificant.  What good is it is we listen to the sermon, but it does not affect the way that we live?  What good is it if we know the right thing to do, but we don’t do it?  How often do we hear an inspiring story or listen to a life changing truth, but then continue on with our lives the way we always have.  We are too busy. Too stressed out.  Too lazy.  We do not make the changes that we need to make in our own lives because we will get to it someday.  Unfortunately, we really cannot be sure that that someday will come.  So what are you doing with the time that you do have?