Today marks the ten year anniversary of the death of my brother. His death was very unexpected, and took us all by surprise. He was 29 years old, in the prime of his life, and he drowned after he went on a regular summer afternoon swim. He was also a very good swimmer and that’s why it was such a shock to all of us.
Our close family members celebrate him in different ways, but we all take some time on this day each year to remember him and what he meant to us. None of us can really believe it’s already been ten years. The years just seemed to have rushed by as lives continued by. I remember clearly that day ten years ago when I received the news; I was in the middle of Penn station in New York, surrounded by people. I started bawling, like really bawling. One of the things I remember most about that experience that night was that no one came to me and asked what was wrong. Not one person. I was surrounded by people and had a deep sense of loneliness at the same time as I wept at the loss of my older brother.
Most recently, I was in Bryant Park and considering my circumstances. While they are not perfect, as I sat there and listened to the song ‘Made a way’ by Travis Green, I was overcome and overwhelmed at how I had seen God making a way, and I started really crying (I cry a fair amount – for good and bad). The difference was, as I sat there, this girl, who I hadn’t even noticed before, came over to me to check if I was ok and offered if I needed to talk that she was willing to listen. She could not have known just how much that kind gesture meant to me.
I share all of this for a number of reasons:
1) we are not promised tomorrow. We should live each day with a constant expectancy and a state of being ready.
2) there are many people around us who are hurting. Some of the hurts stem from past or current hurts. Time heals and lessen the pain, and we won’t always be in the same situation.
3) if you see someone who is hurting/crying and you are in a position to help, please do. You never know the impact you are making on that person.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love. Lord, there are times that we do not understand why you allow certain hurts and losses in our lives, but we trust you anyway knowing that you can see the beginning from the end. Please comfort our hurting hearts, send people who will be there for us and allow us to be there for people who are hurting.