One Life

Sunday afternoon, my husband and I watched the memorial for Charlie Kirk. Before the memorial actually started, there was a worship service. About two and half hours in, there was a lull. Suddenly people broke out into applause and a few of the musicians began to play again. As I watched the screen, I saw white signs being raised that said, “Here I am Lord, send me” with an illustration of Charlie on it. I was undone. I was overwhelmed by the thought of what this one man did, what he gave. He fully surrendered his life to the will of God. I’m sure Charlie never dreamed of the enormous impact he would have, not only in his life but in his death and yet he remained faithful until the end. As I continued to watch through my tears more signs went up around the stadium and as the camera angle changed, I saw there was a sea of red, white and blue paying tribute to Charlie. I will never be able to fully explain what I felt in that moment. And I will never be able to do justice to the power of that tribute, so I will include a link to the video below.

In the days since, I have played that clip over and over again. And more often than not, I have cried. What was it about that moment? Why was I feeling it so powerfully? I told my sister how it impacted me and she sent me a video of two of the musicians describing what happened. Antonio and Allison, the cellist and violinist, said the moment was completely spontaneous and felt sacred. I looked at comments from people who were there and from people who watched it on tv, and so many people had the same exact experience I had. They said that was the moment when the Holy Spirit fell. I was once again overwhelmed; how incredible that the Holy Spirit was moving so powerfully that it didn’t matter where we were, we felt Him move.

Time is something I’ve reflected on here in the past, and in light of Charlie’s life, I’ve found myself reflecting on it again. He was only 31 years old and yet look at the impact he had. He said when he died he wanted to be remembered for courage for his faith. Could I even hope to be remembered for the same thing? I have spent so many years not actively sharing my faith and why? Because I am a people pleaser, because I’ve never wanted to rock the boat, because I’ve been worried about how people might perceive me. Is that really what matters in the end?

These past two weeks have felt weighty and yet inspiring. Sorrowful and yet hope-filled. I am not sure what my future holds but I do know I want to use the rest of my days to point to the One who has given me life, who has saved me for all of eternity and who is worthy of all my praise. Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I pray that in some way my life may be used by Him.

Song from the Charlie Kirk Memorial

All my love,