Heaven Bound

I've been crying a lot lately. I hurt. Especially when it hits close to home.

Last night my parents called with some news as I was heading back to Colorado. News that a neighbor had died. Like the stupid person I can sometimes be, I almost shrugged it off, thinking..."It's probably one of those neighbors I don't know," because a lot of our old neighbors have moved away. But that wasn't the case. My life-long friend Katie's dad, neighbor, and member of my church in Iowa passed away from a massive heart attack while visiting her on the ELIC program in China.

I don't know a lot of the details. I am currently out of the loop. I've never been homesick for my church in Hull, but right now I am. The body is hurting and I want to be there to hurt with it. But I can't because I have students to teach, so instead I am hurting and crying at a distance. This has all made me tired, my eyes hurt, I can't really even think about anything else. I don't think anyone is ready to loose a dad at the age of 23. I know that I'm not.

God keeps providing me with reminders that life is not forever. Unexpected things happen. The timing is His, not ours. And he has a greater purpose than any of us can even imagine. May this be a wake-up call. Petty things don't really matter. Life is so very precious!

I am changed.