They take you in as if they’ve known you for years and make you feel like of their own. They tease you, joke with you, save a spot for you at the Thanksgiving dinner table, support you and love you.Because you’re now part of the family – that’s what you do.
I remember when I first met his aunt and uncle. Terry and Linda. Terry was a gruff-voiced mountain of a man,
but when he smiled at me, I knew he was one of those big men who wound up being
teddy bears. Linda was a woman after my
own heart – she invited me in with a hug, insisted that I eat, then shooed me
out of her kitchen when I tried to help her clean, which is exactly what I
would have done.
Terry and Linda had three sons – Terry Jr., Chad and
Ryan. Craig and Chad were not only
cousins, but close friends. Chad’s wife,
Lisa, soon became a close friend of mine.
Their three young children – Cade, Conner and Cailey – were like nieces
and nephews to us.
On Monday, we received a phone call telling us there had been an
accident. Terry had taken Cade and
Conner fishing, and Cade had fallen into the freezing water. Terry jumped in to save him, but they both
drowned.
Losing a loved one is never easy.
When it’s a child, it’s beyond difficult. Losing them both is indescribable.
There are designations for those who have lost spouses, or children
who have lost parents. We call them
widows, widowers, orphans. But what do
you call a parent who has lost a child?
Shattered. Heartbroken. Confused.
Devastated. Inconsolable.
We are all asking, “Why?” We
will never get an answer, an explanation of why we suffer this loss. We will, however, not suffer alone. This family will stand by one another today,
tomorrow, and every day afterward. This
family will love each other, hold each other close, and rely on each other and
their faith to get through this day, and the next, and the ones that will
follow. Those days will be hard, and
some will be harder than the previous.
We will have days where the sun shines and the pain lifts for a moment,
and we will draw strength from those days that will help us endure the days
where our heart aches and we can’t breathe.
Because we’re family, and that’s what we do.
