and listen to this
before you read the rest of my post. I just heard this song on the radio and it has perfect timing in my life. I will be the first to say how fast life goes, especially now that I have children, but God has taught me this summer that I might not quite get that concept....until now. Some things have happened this summer to some friends and family to make this point all to clear. Not only are these stories of what is going on, but also prayer requests.
We were running late one morning to the swimming pool to drop Aidan off for swim team practice. Aidan hates being late! Today I was glad I was! We live about 4 miles from the pool and as we come over the hill in front of the pool there were many fire trucks, ambulances and state troopers. There had been an accident about 5 minute before that. A motor cycle and a truck/trailer. The truck was turning left into the swimming pool parking lot and the motorcycle was going straight. The gentleman on the motorcycle hit the trailer and was killed right in front of the swim team and coaches in the parking lot. This 22 year old man was going to be a father in a few months.
Brad's assistant cross country coach is a huge runner and triathlete along with his wife. They are members of our church and are actively involved there as well. They have children in high school and middle school. His wife was in a bike crash and sustained brain injury and is now re-learning to walk.
My grandma Regis (Mom's mom) is in her mid 70's is active walker, traveler, seamstress and retired nurse. Her and my grandfather split there time between Florida and Michigan. Overall she is in fantastic health and has an amazing amount of energy. (She has to for her 11th great grandchild was just born.) She got a cold this winter that turned into pneumonia. After round of antibiotics and returning to Michigan for the summer she started having short term memory loss. After doing some tests, they revealed that she may have had a minor stroke.
A close friend of our family, in fact we call her Georgia Grandma, is a loving wonderful women who has accepted our children as her own. Her middle daughter is on Brad's basketball team. Through all the hard time you go through as a coaches wife, she has been nothing but accepting, respectful and loving. I don't have enough words tell this wonderful lady how much she is meant to me in the last year. This summer she found a lump in her breast. It is cancer. She will have a mastectomy tomorrow, followed by chemo.
The summer was the 15th anniversary of the death of Brad's mother Carol. We were able to spend a couple hours on that day to drive around Brad's old stomping ground of Spartenburg and reminisce on memories of her and his brothers. We also just happened to find a letter Brad wrote to a friend about 6 months after his mom passed. For some reason it was never sent. He was a hurting and angry 16 year old. He knows how far he has come since that day and it is even more amazing to see it!
God is holding all these people in all these stories in His arms. Through all the good and bad times He never lets go. We just have to trust Him!
Hope you are staying cool in the hot summer sun!