Life is Beautiful

Hello. My name is Jade.

Instructions...

I have been thinking awhile about starting blog, but haven't known exactly where I have wanted to go with it. After some long debating, I have decided to incorporate one of my favorite things, music, into my posts. I'm working on setting it up.. for now... if you just click on the name of the song below (open it in a new window!) and the song should play. So... In theory, I will post a song that kind of goes along with what I have to say for the day, and you will listen to it while reading my blog. got it? good!

Today's song... Life Is Beautiful by Vega4

I guess to start I will tell you a little about me.I am from a from the very small town of Fall Riv

er where I lived with my mother-Cheri, brother-Jackson, sister-Danielle and our 20 something horses, five dogs and many many cats. I went to high school in Fredonia where I was proud to be a Yellowjacket.

I am a Junior/Senior in Ag Communications and Journalism at the great Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. I live in a small apartment currently with two roommates, Kari and Whitney,but during the school year with my best friend Cole.

Here in Manhattan I work in the duplication center on campus as well as the famous

Tad's Tropical Sno,

where I make fabulous sno cones. (if you haven't tired it, you should... very soon!) This summer, I am working to better improve at my current passion... Photography. I love taking pictures of people, animals, places, things.. pretty much whatever! I hope to one day have my own photography operation or work as a photojournalist or something... we'll see where this world takes me. :)

So I guess I'll get started on what I

have to say. Life is Beautiful.

I'm sure you all have heard it before. But do you really believe it? I know I sure don't sometimes. Sometimes its even hard to get up in the morning. We all have pressures in our lives that cause stress. Things such as jobs, school, friends, family and just plain 'ol life can be pretty overwhelming at times. However, it's times like these that we need to believe it the most... that life is beautiful and no matter what hard times we are going through currently, things WILL BE BETTER once we make it through these obstacles. We must have faith that what we are gong through is only there to teach us a lesson, to make us stronger, and to help build our faith.

I'm going to tell you the story of the strongest man I have ever known and probably will ever know. My father, Darrell Comstock.

I've been told many times that I am a lot like him. Stubborn, quick to anger, and hardworking. I also believe he was very passionate about the things he was involved in, whether it be horses, cars, his motorcycles, family or his job, he put his whole heart into it.

During the spring semester of my senior year of high school my dad was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He was given 8 months to live.

I was devastated.

How could God do this? He was only 39 years old. He was healthy, working hard everyday at work and then at night working to improve our house and land. I was only 18, and my brother had just started high school and

my sister was still in elementary school. They needed him in their lives. I needed him in mine. It was almost more than I could handle.

My dad, however, did not react quite the same. I watched him do a complete 180 and turn his life over to the Lord. My dad had always had faith, but didn't go to church or really share the faith that he had. Soon, it seemed every time the church doors were open, my dad was there. Working with the youth group, playing his bass in the church band or simply just praising the Lord. It was truly and inspiration to watch.

That following fall, after many rounds of chemo and radiation, and the cancer spreading to his brain, my dads scans came back clean. The Doctors had no explanation for it. It was a miracle. My dad believed it was his faith.

Another year went by and my dads cancer came back, with a vengeance it seemed. It wasn't too

long before my dad lost his battle with cancer. However, Instead of being more upset with God, I finally began to see the beauty behind my dad's illness. While I was selfish and not wanting to give my dad up, God was using my dad. He was using my dad's story and his faith to lead others to him. My dad's faith still affects me everyday and who knows how many others. Through all of the ugliness of the cancer I can see the beauty of God's work.

I don't tell you this story to make you feel sorry for me. I tell you it so that you can understand me more, where I am coming from with this blog and most importantly... to continue God's message through my dad.

So, whatever you are going through, no matter how much it may suck or seem to not have any promise... know that God has a plan and is making you stronger.

Life is beautiful. Enjoy every moment of it.

-Jade