Carina

I know I said I was going to post something more about the concert, but it turns out my thoughts wouldn't collect and I am just really tired of focusing on the negative side of "church".
Instead, I want to tell you about my friend Carina. I met Carina durring summer camp at PineValley, an amzing little camp where I met a lot of beautiful people who changed my life in ways I'll probably never know. Carina was one of those beautiful people. From the second I met her I was captured. She had a bright welcoming smile that made me feel loved and accepted. A warmth radiated from her. I remember once we were holding hands praying and ,I kid you not, I could feel the love oozing out of her. She had a way when she was worshiping. It was like it was just her and God. She would dance around the room lost in worship. It was really beautiful to see. Somewhere in the course of the week we decided to do a sort of play to music. It was all Carina's idea and she brought the whole thing to life. As we were preparing to perform she and I stepped outside to pray. Her prayer was so sincere and honest that it made me cry. I had never met anyone like Carina. She had a passion that I didn't understand and could not explain. Camp ended, but Carina and I kept in touch. I was so excited to receive her letters. I'm sure she had no idea what an impact she had on my life. She had a simple faith that I admired so much. When I visited my dad in the summer I would call her and she would come to Teen Time and we would all sing and worship together.
The last time I saw Carina, most of her hair was gone and her body was thin and frail, but the love that oozed from her was still there and her smile had not faded in the least. She was bateling Hotchkins diseas, but you would never know it from talking to her. She did confide in me that she had her down days. Days when she threw her hands up to God asking "Why me", but for the most part she just accepted it and when on living live with joy and love. I know we hear stories all the time about those who are going through an illness and how they don't take anything for granted. Those stories never ment anything to me until I met Carina. She could have easily been angry and bitter and I wouldn't have blamed her a bit. But that just wasn't her style. She lived joy. She was love. I owe a piece of who I am to her.