Heartache

Tomorrow is the fourth funeral this month for a family member, friend, or friend of the family. The death of children, a young adult, a middle aged adult, and an aging adult have affected our lives and the lives of many that have a very special place in our heart in recent weeks. It has me thinking about how life is never certain. It makes me want to grab everyone close to me and just hold on tightly while I still have them.

Perspective changes on everything once you become a parent. Everyone always told me this - but it's something you just don't understand until you have children of your own. The sting of death is so painful. I look forward to so many things in my girl's future - chocolately smiles at birthday parties, sticking that cartwheel on beam, scoring the winning goal, graduations, weddings, granchildren....But today I just want to stop time to save them from the inevitable heartaches life has to bring. It breaks my heart now to hear them protest cry because they don't want to sleep - I won't even imagine how much pain I will feel when I see REAL tears in their eyes from true heartbreak. I'd do ANYTHING to keep them from ever having to feel that pain.

This month has certainly made me contemplate my own mortality. I won't live forever - even though sometimes I feel like I will. I can't contemplate death without contemplating my faith. Praise God He has conquered the grave! The only comfort in death is knowing about the life Christ has bridged for us in heaven. But as I thought about how exciting heaven will be on the way home today and how the hope in Him has carried us through this past month - it dawned on me how important my children's salvation is to me. Of course, I've always known it is important to me to raise my children in church and to teach them about God. But, today I REALLY realized how important it is that when I do make it there one day, that my children follow me. So, I'm writing this down, in case something happens and I don't wake up tomorrow either, that my children will always know how important their faith in God was to me. How important it should be to all of us to make sure our loved ones are there with us on the other side.

This song played on the way home...I'm so thankful that I can fall into the hands of God. And I'll spend all my days making sure my girls know about the Great Comforter, too...