The past few weeks have kicked me down, and my heart feels heavy. We have had family and friends pass away, have had friends and family lose loved ones unexpectedly, lose jobs, lose babies...it has been a tough couple of weeks. Today Mike and I attended the funeral of one of his friends, he was 35 years old and died so unexpectedly- he leaves behind a wife and two children, the youngest is just a baby and I am heartsick for this sweet family.
Hannah and David both knew this friend...he was admitted to the hospital on Thursday and was in pretty rough shape. Friday evening before bed, the kids made get well cards. He passed away Friday evening just an hour or so after they were in bed. Saturday morning the first thing Hannah did was find her card and ask me if he was better...how exactly do you explain death to a four year old? I told her that he was better, because he had gone to heaven to be with God, and when you are in heaven, you are completely better. I told her we miss people when they are in heaven because they are no longer here with us, but it is a wonderful thing to be with Jesus and be completely better. I wanted to keep my explanation simple and short, Hannah is at an age where she asks a million questions and my emotions were raw, and I was not completely awake for this conversation, (she literally got her card first thing out of bed) and I didn't want to go down the slippery slope of "old" age, and being "sick" because I feel this is really tricky to explain to this age without opening up a fear of dying, sickness, getting older, etc. Thankfully, she accepted my answer and seems to be okay with it.
My prayer is that all of our friends and loved ones who are struggling and grieving feel the love and peace of Jesus, that happier days are ahead, and the comfort of God surrounds them in a way that sinks them deep in the fullness of His love. If you are struggling or grieving, it is my prayer for you too. It is almost Thanksgiving, and even with everything that we have been dealing with, we have so much to be grateful for, I am blessed beyond anything that I deserve. I pray that you all have a Thanksgiving that is full of love and hope.