It makes one think!

The past several weeks have really made me think about the blessing I have in my own backyard! I spent approx. 10 days in Ohio with my dear friends going through the worst time in their lives. They lost a 5 month old baby girl. And the circumstances surrounding the loss to this day have not been made clear to the parents, or the grandmothers. The authorities made the parents feel they were the ones at fault even though there was no evidence that there was any such thing. These are wonderful people, caring and loving. I know this because the mother is like a second daughter to me. I baby sat her as a child. She and my daughter grew up together as children.

The grandfather and Roger were best friends! I am sorry he passed away from cancer at such a young age but am grateful he was not here to see how this all was handled. I was so glad I was able to go up and be with them. Not that I could say or do much to make the situation any easier, but being there was both a comfort for them and also for me. I would have been no where else. But I can tell you one thing for certain, I have never been to a funeral of a child so young, and I hope I never have to again. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful celebration of her short life, but oh so sad. Her 9 year old sister Peyton, had such a difficult time accepting this. Bryana also is survived by two other beautiful sisters Jordan 21 and Sieara 18. Please keep them and her parents Nicole and Brian and grandmother Sharon in your prayers through this most difficult time.

I came home and then prepared for the "triple birthday" Roger, Lee and Trinity. I was tired and getting ready for this "party" was not what I was ready to do. I had to really struggle to get in gear. But I managed to do it. It went well, I was disappointed Kristy & family couldn't be here as they were sick. As it turned out we found out today the children have strep throat. So it was a good thing they didn't try to come. The party turned out well. There were 14 here including Tara's family who had never been to our home before. We had an age range from 14 mos. to in their late 80's. We had the party a day early as Trinity's "mother" was going to "pop" into town and see her for a couple hours on the actual day, so we couldn't have it on the actual day like we would have liked to. It all turned out ok for me, as you will see later, as I was rather busy "again". Here is where the title of my blog comes in, "It makes one think"... As I sat there I couldn't help but think of how many times, I had nearly lost "my babies". Lee with his very premature birth and then when he had that horrible accident and we were told he would never walk again. Then that horrible accident he was in in South Dakota just before he left the military. And, the almost 8 years he was in the military serving overseas in Iraq, Kuwait, Korea,Saudi Arabia and someplaces he was never allowed to even tell us he was at. I thought about the time Kristy had chicken pox and was so extremely sick they hospitalize her and she lost weight and was only 42 pounds and she was in eighth grade! We nearly lost her then. God has blessed us so many times. Sure,I was tired and worn out, but I am so blessed, compared to what my friends were going through, what was I even thinking about - thinking I was tired?

Then it was Mother's Day and the actual birthday. I was worship chair at church. I had thought ahead and ran the bulletins early so I wouldn't have to do them on the day of the party so they were done ahead of time, the flowers were ordered for the women of the church and would be ready for me to pick up that morning on the way to church. Individual flowers for each person, I had even remembered to account for visitors and each flower was to be individually wrapped. I was ready! The phone rang at 6:30 a.m. Oh, my this couldn't be good. It was my friend Sandra Garrison. She was calling to let me know her husband had died a couple hours earlier. Bless her heart. He had been ill for a couple years, but today was his day to go home to the Lord. I talked to her for awhile, then went and picked up the flowers and headed to church and then after church went by and took a deli tray (I ordered after I talked to Sandra) by to her house and we sat with her for awhile. We came home and then went to our friends the Hickman's for awhile to wish Thelma's Happy Mother's Day.

We got home around 8 p.m. and we talked about how grateful we were to be blessed with our wonderful children!

So as I close this post I say, "sit back reflect and realize how blessed you truly are, one never really realizes until you really look at what others are going through!"