:::Levi:::

Life is precious.

That is one of the biggest lessons I've learned this week, at such a high cost.

It's been a tough few days. I've been mourning the loss of my sweet friend's younger brother, and my brother's best friend, Levi. He died in a tragic car accident on Saturday afternoon - he was a senior and barely 19 years old. He was the best player on his football team, a stud on his track team, a leader of his Young Life in his school, and a leader in his youth group, _tag.

But honestly, only after attending a candlelight service on Sunday night at Its A Grind Coffee House, where I witnessed over 300 people, primarily high school students, sobbing and mourning the lost of beloved Levi, did I realize just how incredibly amazing of a person he was.

He was a stud, a jock, no doubt. He loved to work out and his body did little to hide that fact, but what blew me away was the fact that his death brought together more people than just the "jocks." I mean literally, every stereotype of highschcooler that you could ever imagine was there at Its A Grind in honor of Levi. You had your jocks, your football team, your track team, your emo kids, your pretty preppy girls, your goths, your nerds, your church kids, your God haters, your rebels.... I mean seriously, as I looked around this massive crowd, that simple fact blew me away.

We had a moment during the candlelight service where people were able to share a story or memory they had of Levi, and I lost count of how many stories sounded something like this:

"I was new to Lewis Palmer (his HS), and I didn't know anybody, and I was kinda nervous but I sat down in my first class of my junior year and happened to sit next to Levi. He looked at me and smiled and said "Hey, what's up?" I was kind of hesitant because he looked like a stuck up jock to me at first, but he quickly broke down those barriers and started talking a lot to me, and honestly it was nice to have someone to talk to. He became my first friend at LP and always remained my friend since then."

Seriously, stories of how this kid impacted lives of Highschoolers was so humbling to me. However, the fact that he loved people was only part of how amazing this kid was, there wasn't a person in the crowd who was ignorant to the fact that Levi was a Christian and loved the Lord. His love for the Lord was evident in his leadership in Young Life, in his youth group, and in his life in general.

Seems to me like this kid really learned to hide the first commandment in His heart, to "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."

Seeing His love for people and His love for the Lord, and how his life had such an amazing impact on other kids at his public high school was a life-changing thing for me. He pointed people towards God through his love for them. That's what this life is all about.

I'm humbled to have witnessed that.

I'm grateful that he was such a great non-related older brother to my little sister, and such an amazing best friend to my brother.

I'm grateful to know Sasha, Levi's older sister, and witness her incredible grace, beauty, and strength at the candlelight service.

I tear up when I think of that moment on Sunday night when I first saw her at the Coffee House, she hurried to me and squeezed me tight and started bawling on my shoulder... all I could whisper through my sobs was "Sasha, I'm so so sorry..." and her response through her sobs, in the midst of a broken heart, was "I know, but Levi's with Jesus. He's with Jesus now."

Psalms 34:18 "The Lord is near to the broken-hearted..."

What can we learn from Levi's life?? Love people. Look past their earrings, tattoos, tough facade, emo/goth clothes - everyone has a story and everyone deserves to be loved. Why? Because everyone was made in the image of God, and that is what God commands us to do.



True Love Changes lives... and life is too short to live without trying to make an impact on people around you.

Live to Love.

Be like Levi.