My usual morning routine goes as follows: I open my eyes, lie in bed for a bit and then check my phone. In this day and age, our phones are like newspapers. We open them up, get to our newsfeed on each site and read the articles being posted or tweets being tweeted by one another. We use the internet as a way to educate ourselves on topics, coming from all points of view. Well, I didn't need to read an article to make sense of what exactly I was reading when opened my phone Saturday morning to a text that made my heart sink.
A good friend of mine sent me a message that said, "Why does Christina Grimmie have to be dead?" When I read it the first time, I thought it was a joke, like, maybe her stardom fell or she just wasn't posting new videos or music for her fans anymore. Never in a million years did I think my childhood inspiration was actually dead. As I reread the text, I froze in my tracks and immediately got out my laptop and started researching "Christina Grimmie: Dead." When the headlines popped up on the Google page, my heart sank into my stomach. Maybe it was just a hoax? Maybe it was one of those crazy celebrity stunts people throw around every once in a while. I mean, who would ever want to hurt someone as humble as her?
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It wasn't a hoax. She was actually dead. Every article talked about how she was shot. She was shot while signing autographs. I mean, how ridiculous, right? Something that every celebrity does at meet and greets, concerts, award shows, on the streets, etc. That, for them, is their everyday life. Signing autographs, meeting fans, taking pictures, what have you. The thing that gets me the most is that she probably greeted this man with open arms like she would for any fan of hers or really anyone else. She was humble to the person who ended her entire life. I couldn't make sense of it. I couldn't figure out how anyone could just walk up to someone and not only shoot them one time but multiple times.
Christina was doing a daily routine. She sang some songs, talked to her crowd and signed autographs for them. She did the things that were her normal lifestyle, but this is the thing that keeps sticking to me. She probably didn't think she was going to get shot and killed that night because she has done this same routine a million times. What is so different about now? As I continue to think about that, I realized that I, too, run a daily routine, much like the rest of us do. It may not be as glamorous as Christina's, but it is still our daily routine. Imagine you were at the grocery store on a Thursday, like you always are, and the man at the checkout station just shoots you. Imagine if that was the last thing you did, grocery shopped on a regular Thursday afternoon. Would you be satisfied with that?
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I am not saying Christina wasn't satisfied meeting her fans and making them happy because I'm sure she was. But, do you think she would've lived a little bit louder if she knew that night she was going to die? I mean, I think I'd probably say all the things I've ever wanted to say and do all the things I've always wanted to do if I knew exactly when I was going to die. We spend too much of our time being unhappy and not living to the expectations God plans for us. Christina was so strong in her faith and fighting to do what she loved.
I know what you're thinking. "Why are you saying this? You act like she deserved to die in that moment." No, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is, in her short 22 years of life, this woman accomplished more than most 22-year-olds could probably say. She inspired a world of people, a generation. She made a name for herself for people to remember her by – a name that was respectable. She was humble, her faith was unbreakable, her heart was bigger than most of us can ever put into words. She lived her life, and through this whole situation, that is one thing I can think about and really smile about. She lived the way she wanted to.
I want you to do the same. I want you to get out of that funk you're in and do the things you've always wanted to do. Go be inspiring for other people, so they, too, can find the motivation to do what they love. Christina had many fans who posted to her after her passing saying how inspirational she was to them and how they want to live their life to the fullest because she will never get to continue to. I'm not saying live to please someone who is no longer with us, but live to your fullest like Christina was in the midst of doing. You never know when your last day will be. It could be today or tomorrow or a week, month, year from now. You never know. For all we know, it could be during our daily routine. Would you be satisfied with that?
