Sad news

A girl I went to school with, Stephanie, lost her 22 month old last night.  It is such a sad story, and I tear up every time I think about it.  (You can read it here)  I can not imagine the pain of losing a child.  I cry when I go to my daughter's high school and they say goodbye to the seniors (and she's a freshman!!) 

But the strength this family has shown as their child has been in the hospital is amazing.  I would love to say I have that kind of faith--the kind of faith that can just put it in God's hands, but I don't know if I do.  I know we don't know how we will react until it happens, but I want to be Stephanie and Dave when I grow up.  They have been an inspiration to me.  They have been able to publicly lay it all out to God, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I hope (and pray) they will be able to rest in knowing Ben is with God now.  If our mission on this earth is to bring others closer to God, Ben (and his parents) have done this well.  God will say to them, "Well done, good and faithful servants!!"

Specifically, they have inspired my family to pray.  Something we are not great at doing as a family.  Oh, I pray.  I pray all the time.  I feel like my relationship with God is pretty good.  And I'm pretty sure my kids pray.  They know who God is, and not only do we go to church, we sometimes even talk about it.  However, we don't pray as a family, aside from our mealtime prayer.  We don't remind each other to pray about the little stuff and the big stuff.  Sure, I tell Jessy I'll pray for her on the morning of a big test, and I tell Adnrew I'll pray as he is struggling with his problems.  But, we don't pray together.  So, in Ben's honor, I think we will start to do that.  Because Ben did not die in vain.  His death will be used by God, and in my case, it will to bring my family closer to Him.

Godspeed, Ben.  I pray you are resting in God's hands, eating marshmallows with angels.  We'll say a prayer for that at bedtime tonight.

~Missy