Life is sweet...

Rarely do I post about things that are too personal, or give ramblings on what I am thinking about. However, when someone passes away, it's hard not to reflect and think about the blessings we have in this life. One of the girls that used to be in Gary's student ministry, only one year after graduating high school, passed away from cancer. Last year I met her parents and we talked about how excited they were for her to go off to college, how they would get the house to themselves, the dreams and hopes of their baby girl completing a mile stone in life and the exciting journey of life she had ahead of her. Gary and I lamented about the phase of life we were in with three young children, how sleep was a dream in itself, how the kids ran us ragged, and how we longed for the days when our kids would be older and grown, like their little girl. It was a week or two after we talked with her parents that they found out Ashley had cancer. The news rocked our little community, Sayward's student ministry held a fund raising concert for her, everyone rallied behind this family. Prayer vigils were held, begging God to let her live and grow grey. God had other plans. It has been JUST over one year since they got their diagnosis, and now she has gone to be with God.
I think about those 10-15 minutes I spent talking with her parents. I look at my children and just want to somehow freeze every moment I have with them. There are no guarentees. God doesn't promise us this life, just the next. It's hard to remember that this is temporary. It's hard not to take time for granted. It's easy to get distracted from the important things. Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.
I am going to try with all my might to show my kids just how much I love them, and how much God loves them. Hopefully, with God's help, they will never question that, and will only want to share that love with others.
Pray for the Gaines family and this community. They need it.