Hope in the Midst of Sadness

My blog posts are usually light-- pictures of the kids, what we've been up to, funny stories, recipes, etc....this won't be quite the same.
There's a little boy in Jon's class named Curtis...sweet, sweet little boy who has become Jon's friend. Curtis's daddy was deployed for a year to Iraq. He came home just a few weeks ago to big signs, balloons, etc. at the entrance to his neighborhood and more importantly, to his wife Christine, his son, Curtis and his two year old daughter Sophia. I can only imagine the joy that family felt after being apart for so long. The joy was brief. Curtis's daddy got sick, just after celebrating Curtis's fifth birthday, he went to the hospital and passed away of bacterial menengitis just a couple days later. It's been a week since the school sent home a letter to all the families so that we would know and be able to send cards, etc. to the Blackmon family. My heart has not stopped aching for this family. I barely know them yet I feel so much sadness for them. Every song on the radio has new meaning like Steven Curtis Chapman's "Heaven is the Face" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9JTwJ_1lzE) and "With Hope" (song #6) as well as others (some of which I added to the playlist). I keep thinking of things I could do: send a card, make a CD, bring dinner, call...it all seems so insignificant. They lost their daddy, their husband, their loved one, after being reunited for such a short time. I know God has a plan for all of us and I don't question His plan for this family, but I have come to understand two things from this. The first is that every second is so absolutely precious. In the 33 miles song, they sing about one life to love. Take nothing for granted. "Count it all joy" as it says in the book of James. Say "I love you", give hugs and kisses to those you love, take time to do what's really important. And more importantly what has been truly brought home to me is that we rest in the fact that if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, God has promised us eternal life in heaven. "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12). We have forever with our loved ones if we have Christ in our hearts.
Please pray for the Blackmon family.