Reflections

A very dear family lost their patriarch on Monday, and today we celebrated his life. It was truly a beautiful service, with lots of family and friends. But I wanted to take a minute to sort of process through some things, so bare with me.

This is a picture of the M family and as you can see Adam not only is the center of the photo - he was the center of their family. One of those men that left people inspired. The pastor that we shared said it best on Monday when he said that Adam inspired him to be a better family man. Adam never met a stranger - and invited everyone he encountered to be a part of anything that he was doing.

The flag at his feet in the photo represents his son that recently passed away as well... and he's holding his grandson that never met his father... this family has gone through a LOT in the last year... and have done it with amazing grace and courage. Grace and courage, in fact that I don't see in myself. I found myself watching Dawn this morning while she was caring for her children and thought about how incredibly beautiful she is inside and outside...

I also was reminded of my own little mini-breakdown last night where in a moment of frustration - I sort of got crabby that I hadn't been able to find time to eat dinner because the boys were so needy... and then it hit me. Life could be so incredibly different. In an instant. A blink of an eye. What I am frustrated by in a moment of weakness - could not be there. Plain and simple... 10 months ago - I was praying that God would grace me with these children, how in any moment can I see that as a burden or complain for an fleeting moment that my exhaustion or hunger should take precedence?

Right now, I'm getting a taste of what it is like to be a single parent... and while I can't say that I am enjoying it... the fact remains that it is temporary. For Dawn, it is her new reality.

I watched their beautiful children - ages 10, 8, 7 and 3 - say goodbye to their father until we are all in heaven together again... and I found myself viewing it from a whole different perspective - as I do with so much of life now. It could be any one of us sitting where Dawn was today, and needing to comfort our own children through this loss. Could I do it? I don't know. Certainly not with the grace and poise that I saw in her. If you can imagine - she also looked incredibly beautiful - almost like there was a light from heaven surrounding her... of course for me, I'd love to think that it was Adam holding her and helping her get through the day.

John sang today - "I Can Only Imagine" and "There Will Be a Day"  - very beautiful and emotional songs... click the links to see the original artists music videos of each song. I took a short video of him during the sound check...

I say all of this to try to remind us all to not take any moment for granted. Love with all of your heart. Live IN  the moment... not 1/2 there and 1/2 on your phone... be all there. Know that every moment offers a memory - that someone in your life will cling to someday when you're not there anymore. We all will leave this Earth at some point - that isn't within our power... not to control, to know when, or to know how... - BUT we can control right now and the memories we leave behind. The legacy we leave behind.

I know that Adam leaves an incredible legacy... I can only hope that I do someday as well.