sorrow, prayer and community

today brought tragedy to a beautiful young family we know.

as i heard the news, my heart fell into my stomach. my phone dropped to the couch. 

i sat overwhelmed. overcome. 

and suddenly alone. 

i battled with myself wondering what was best. call someone? share with someone? i wasn't sure.

i called a friend. she didn't answer. 

i sat on the couch and stared. 

she called back. 

i shared the news with her and before i was even finished, i found i was praying.

crying out to the Maker of all things. the Creator of Good. One who hates evil. we cried out together. 

as i heard her voice echoing the same longing as the one in my heart:

come Jesus... come soon

as we mourned loss together, 

as we thanked our Father for receiving our anger, our grief, 

as we asked for wisdom, kindnesses to abound, for honesty, 

as i cried some more,

as i thanked Him for His promised return-- for letting us have that hope,

... i felt lifted.

i heard a good friend recently talk of prayer as a way to carry just a small piece of someone's sorrow. just a small piece. so one doesn't have to carry all of it alone. 

i hope we did that today. on the phone together. praying for a sister and brother. 

thankful for His hope. thankful for His family. thankful for what He does in the midst of us when we come together. 

life

things are plodding along over here. a lot of normal. regular. and all that that brings along with it.

samuel said to me this morning-- while still pj'd and sleepy-eyed, "the years go by fast. i wish they didn't."

oh, my boy. i agree.

i had a lovely kind mom and her teen over the other day. and i was reminded of those sneaky, quick years. reminded to cherish and enjoy. i'm not all that good at it most of the time. kind of a grass-is-greener pro over here. but i'm glad that the reminders keep coming. those lovely reminders to stop and say yes.

last week one of the kids was sad and was sitting in my lap. genuinely sad. and just wanting to sit in my lap for a few. and i found myself thinking of all the things i needed to get done. the emails, the dishes, the planning, etc. i'm so thankful that i remembered a post by a friend. and how she just sat. and so i did the same. 

hope your january is off to a good start. full of warm things-- all the warm things.