"When will this fantasy end/When will heaven begin"

Did you know genuinely good people still exist? The kind that open doors for people, pick flowers for their elderly neighbor, and sacrifice their life for someone else. I forget sometimes. When I watch the news all I hear are stories of people doing terrible, cold hearted things. It makes me feel awful about the world I live it. But every once in awhile a story comes out that makes me remember that most people are naturally good. I recently watched CNN and watched something good and bad. I'll start with the bad news first.

I heard a story about a man who had just returned home from Iraq. It was Christmas Day and he was watching the NBA start their season with his brother and his brother's friend. They were both rooting for different teams and when the guy who just got out of the army's team won they started a little trash talking. His brother's friend was so offended he pulled out a gun and shot him like 10 times. Over a silly little basketball game. They dialed 911 and got him to the hospital as soon as they could, but it wasn't soon enough. The man was paralized from the neck down and will probably never walk again. This isn't the most positive thing to say but i'm going to be real; his life is over before it even began. Right after high school he went off to protect our country which I kind of admire (I say kind of because shooting innocent iraqi's doesn't really help me any and I'm not a fan of this war. I personally could never shoot anyone even if it was for a strong cause like protecting the country). Anyways I felt terrible when I heard this, but the light at the end of the tunnel was that the man had hope for his future and felt like it could have been worse. Everything happens for a reason, but it's sad what the world has come to.

The positive story was a young man named Ben Breedlove. Now I had seen his name in a tweet Kim Kardashian sent and for some reason I thought he was the NBA player that had passed away. Anyways, I was watching CNN and they mentioned this must see youtube video. They showed a little clip and I just got a strong urge to watch it. Here's the link to the video : part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEHsHKZreI part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF1Ju60nBbU&feature=related . I really suggest you watch the video. In the video's he tells his life story. He was born with a heart condition called HCM. It caused him to almost die three times. Each other the three times he saw a light and felt a peace he'd never experienced before. He felt heaven. It was so good he didn't want to come back to earth. He passed away on Christmas day at only 18 years old (before he'd even lived). But in the video he talks about how he feels good about the life he lived. He was ready to die, because he knows he has nothing to fear. His strength in God and belief in heaven got him through it all. He was a very handsome guy (is it wrong to say that about a dead person?). I think his video reminded me that when God is on your side you have nothing to fear. This is the verse my grandma said before she passed away and one that relates to Ben's story, " Though I may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me" - Psalms 23: 4

Song of the day: Mr. Rager by Kid Cudi (this is the song that Ben would listen to to keep him going. He really related to the lyrics about going to heaven. Kid Cudi actually made a statement about Ben that was really sweet

"Iam so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, Iam to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really fucked up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definately mine. You have my love"

I bet Ben's smiling in heaven. )

quote of the day: "When will this fantasy end/When will heaven begin" - This is the line Ben really related too in Mr. Rager