Death in Threes? Not Always

A young man died on Wednesday at the young age of 25.  He was all alone at the time of his passing.  Perhaps, he had been alone most of his life.  He was the youngest of three siblings.  The last child to be raised by his parents.  When I entered in his young life, he could barely spell, he could not cut his food, and wasn't even able to tie his own shoes.  In his last few moments of life, he must have felt so terribly lost to terminate his own life.  Subsequently, there was another death associated with my family and then a third.  A fourth death occurred.  My children and I responded at a different level of despair and grieved over these deaths - each in our own way - and each of us for our own reasons.   Death is around us.  It is a part of life but, does not necessarily occur in threes.  May those who have passed before us rest in peace.  For those they have left behind; may we only regard the good times we shared with them and live together with joy.

Family Events Provide Writing Material

It's early evening on Easter Sunday.  Baking cakes, cooking ham on the grill, and entertaining both young and old with a festive egg hunt have become a family tradition.  The young adults are just as eager to find their treasured eggs filled with wonderful surprises as are the young children.  The little ones so enjoy the excitement and gift bags and dyed eggs.  And then there is Joe and I.  We stand by and watch.  Our efforts of cleaning and preparation until the early morning hours are forgotten.  We know Jesus died so that we could live freely and prosper and are blessed.   We don't forget that.    We smile - we know we are creating family memories.  Perhaps, we are even providing material for the next generation to write about.