When I was a kid, I felt like time just dragged on and on...
What a rude awakening it is when you grow up! I have 3 kids -- one that's almost a tween-ager! Collin just turned 7 and Justin turns 4 today! How can that be?
We spent this past weekend with extended family. We saw family members that we'd never even met as cousins are marrying and having kids. Unfortunately, we didn't get together for a fun family reunion -- rather a sad time of saying goodbye to an uncle who left us much too young. My uncle, "Tio Juan" died last Wednesday morning of a heart attack at the young age of 57. I think I was in shock when Hilda told me. I just couldn't believe it. But it's true. He left 9 kids -- 8 of them are married -- and 23 grandkids and another on the way. His wife is heartbroken. Really, the whole family is heartbroken. The funeral was long. At the graveside, his family said their last goodbyes -- just imagine -- 17 adults (9 kids and 8 in-laws) saying goodbye; 23 young kids -- most of them won't even remember him -- blowing kisses at the casket; a wife who is now a widow at such a young age and feels totally alone. It was heart-wrenching. And yet, amid all that, this family formed a circle around the grave and pledged to each other "the circle will be unbroken". This week they start life without "Grandpa".
I can't help wondering what God might want to show us through this. Even amid heartache and tears and loss, He gives us a life to live everyday. He never promised us tomorrow. So today, we must live as though we won't have a tomorrow. I know I've been hugging my kids a little more often, making sure they hear how proud I am of them and how much I love them.
Monica
