Guest Blog - Abbi Zeliff
By profession, I am a graphic designer. By God’s grace, I am one of His beloved. As a “creative,” I am always looking for ways to interestingly and effectively communicate my love for Christ and how He is working in my life every day.
My dear friend Katie wrote this amazing prose a year and a half ago, shortly before being diagnosed with Adult Myeloid Leukemia.
“I am a Christian. Not because my grandfather is, not because his grandfather was…not because Grove Level planned the best activities when I was in middle school. I am a Christian because I have studied the life of Christ and it is good and it is love…and it is triumphant.
I have never thrown my arms up in excitement or run around the sanctuary or shouted out to God during a sermon or fainted or swayed or been “slain in the Spirit” or spoken in tongues…or handled snakes (smile).
It’s all I can do to clap in time to praise music…but I can hear Him whisper and I have felt Him only inches away if any at all and He has touched me and my insides stand in attention and my heart is red and it beats hard and fast and if you turn me inside out like an orange there would be some fantastic celebration with parades and ferris wheels and fireworks and marching bands and jelly beans and pinwheels and fire eaters and hula hoops and…fat ladies in polka dots and lions and popcorn and acrobats.
I pray that you might know my insides and realize that although I don’t believe as you do…I believe with passion and with love and with direction of thought and purpose…not with a simple, gross obedience to a church or a pastor or a cause….All I know is that in the end it will be as God has planned and man can not interfere.
And God is love. Love is everything.
- Katie Hammontree [Whitlow]
Amen (smile)”
The first time I read this, tears of joy and thanksgiving streamed down my face. I hope Katie’s depiction of her love for our Savior helps you see the beauty in your own relationship with Him.
Katie passed away December 20th, 2007, exactly one year to the day of her diagnosis. She was 26. And I have no doubts as to where she is right now.
I pray you find your own unique ways to communicate His love to the people in your life. They need to hear it. Time is short. Love. Love. LOVE.
Visit 
Abbi! Great job, girl! Thank you for always showing us who Jesus is through your life, sista!
Awesome Abbi! your right!Time is sooooooo short! We need to live like it!
Powerful reminder of what really matters.
Love this! Such powerfully creative words! I know you miss her still…thanks again for sharing her story with us. Like you, she was quite a girl!
Craig,this is my favorite of all your guest blogs! The reason is simple really. As a pastor I struggle constantly with trying to make sure that people “get it” and learn how to express their love for God in the simplest of ways. Not everyone is given to exuberant and loud praise (as good as that is), and not everyone is an incredibly powerful “prayer warrior” (as significant as that is).
So, in the simplest of expressions we find praise!! I loved the depiction of being turned inside out and there would be marching bands, fat ladies in polka dots and all of the amazing descriptive expressions of her passion for God. Thanks for having Abbi guest blog for you, and Abbi thanks for posting this.
Wow. Thank you all for your kind words and for letting me share my sweet friend Katie’s words with you.
Anna: Back at you, sister!
Jenn & Phil: Amen!
Robin: Thanks for listening and loving me through all the tears.
Joseph: Wow, thank you! I pray this prose continues to inspire you. (Feel free to share it!) Although God is big and mighty, I believe He is also in the simple things: a child’s laugh, a soft breeze, the first blooms of spring. There might be a sermon in there somewhere!
great stuff abbi.
thanks!
[...] You can read the original post by Abbi here. [...]
Great reminder that this life is not all there is…
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all reach out with such simple words and show such an amazing LOVE as is God’s. He is love within us. I am thankful for the time that you had with your amazing friend Abbi and know that although you miss her you are greatly comforted by the Love that she gave.
Abbi, what a great post. The business administrator at our church is during of a degenerative lung disease and has less than 10% of his lung capacity left, but he still comes into the office and amazes me with his passion and commitment to seeing others experience what Christ has done in his life; even if that means passing on the job. It was the great hymn writer Issac Watts who wrote, “Blessed Is the Man Whose Bowels Move.” Your post reminded me of the joys I receive in my ministry and the weirdest hymn title I have come across so far. It was good to hear from you. Bless God.
Love to see Katies spirit live. We have set up a Fund for Katie. Please read more at http://www.khwfund.org