Hard

Life is so good and so hard all at the same time.  The past couple of weeks there are people who have been heavy on my heart, because of the unimaginable loss they have been through.  There is a young mom of 3 here who battled cancer for a little over a year, and she passed away a couple of weeks ago.  I did not know her--just followed her story, because my friends were close to her.  My heart breaks for her husband and 3 kids.  And I can only imagine as a mom how hard that is to know you are leaving your babies and husband--although you know the amazing glory you have ahead of you, I cannot imagine the emotions she went through while she suffered pain and illness and wanted to make the most of her last moments with her family.  From what you can see, she trusted God every step of the way, never complained, always put her hope in the Lord, and remained strong for her family until the end.  I cannot imagine the glories she has seen and experienced the past couple of weeks.  You can watch a video she made 6 weeks before she passed away.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r6v7jOUSr8
Again, there are others who have lost mothers this week.  And others who have lost husbands.  It seems like it never ends.  I feel like I was writing a post like this a couple of years ago, because there was such much loss around me.  I was struck with grief when I saw that another young mom lost her husband this past weekend.  His funeral service is today.  Again, I do not know them personally, but their story just resonates with me.  I can only imagine through what I experienced alongside Nicole, who lost her husband while having a young baby, the enormous shock and pain Julee is experiencing and grief for her baby girl who has lost her father.  You can see this video about Matt.
http://nwahomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=371742
Kelly from Kelly's Korner has written a good post to sum up some of the same things I have been thinking http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2012/10/hard.html
What I've realized--we need God more than ever now to be a balm for our broken hearts, to give us strength to get up every day, and to help us not be fearful that we will lose those close to us.  We need the hope of Heaven--I do not understand why He is calling so many people home, but I do think more than ever our thoughts are Heavenward now--hopefully our focus has shifted away from earthly things and more toward what is eternal as we think of those who have gone before us.  Hopefully we are focused less on ourselves and will try to make a dent in helping the hurting around us, whether this is the orphan or widow.