The Last Song

(images from We Heart It)

By: Nicholas Sparks

Just got back from spring break in Spain! I'll be sure to post pics of my trip later and what inspired me while I was there but we spent a lot of time road tripping on the bus where while I wasn't sleeping I was reading The Last Song. Here's what I simply adored! ...

"Pastor Harris said again, '...Never forget that God is your friend. And like all friends, He longs to hear what's been happening in your life. Good or bad, whether it's been full of sorrow or anger, and even when you're questioning why terrible things have to happen. So I talk with him.' "

"What did he mean when he said he felt God's presence?...How could anyone explain such a thing? It would be like describing colors to someone blind from birth: The words might be understood, but the concept would remain mysterious and private."

"Ronnie placed a gentle finger over his lips, 'I love you. And I need you to do something for me...Play today like you've never played before.' "

"She was sleeping in a quiet bedroom beside her brother, separated only by glass and sand from the young man she loved, a young man who loved her back. She wondered whether there could be anything greater in life. And despite all that had happened, maybe because of it, she knew she would never forget the summer they'd spent together, no matter what the future might bring."

"If she soon would have only memories, then she wanted as many as she could collect, as she found herself praying for the first time in years, she begged God for enough time to make it possible."

" 'It's Galatins 5:22,' he said, pressing the Bible flat in his lap. He cleared his throat before he started. 'But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.' "

"Life, he realized, was much like a song. In the beginning, there is a mysetrery, in the end there is a confimration, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile."

"He wouldn't want her to mourn for months; he would want her to life her life much the way he had in the final year of his own life. More than anything, he wanted her to embrace life and flourish."

To me, this book focused on the epitome of why I do this-to focus on the positive things in life and make the most out of what you are given. Ronnie's dad knew he was sick but he made the most of what he had and didn't waste his energy on getting angry, he found joy in everything and embraced life. We never know how much time we have left!