Suddenly

In my journalism classes we learned never to write that someone died suddenly. The reason was that every death is sudden. What we meant to say was that they had passed away unexpectedly.

This Christmas was full of many things and one of them seemed to be death. Whether it was national news like Sandy Hook Elementary, the firefighters who were killed on Christmas Eve, or close to home like Heather Corbett and Mack Edsel, death seemed extra prevalent this Christmas. My father is a Sunday School teacher at Emmanuel Baptist Church. He will actually presided over graveside services today and tomorrow. He is very good at visiting people in the hospital and talking to those who are losing a loved one. That is a special gift because most people, myself included, are speechless at times like this.

God blesses us with people to share our lives with. Some of them are around for all of it and others come and go. I am certain that all of this is in God’s plan and sorting through the aftermath brings us closer to Him. I wouldn’t say I was close to anyone who died this Christmas. I knew them through others and it is for those people that I pray. They are left with memories, but I hope that in their grief they are able to praise God and thank Him for the time they had with their loved ones.

It has been a great reminder for me to hug the ones I love and tell them how much they mean to me while I still can.

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