our friend

Last Sunday, just 6 days ago, my kids ran upto my friend and greeted her with a big hug.

my two little ones grabbed her legs and our six year old waited for her turn for a hug. They were all so excited to see her.She used to help take care of our twins in the nursery on Sunday mornings.she is one of the few friends that I have had since before and after I became a Christian.

We met her at our oldest daughter's private school when our daughter was in first grade. My husband and I were soon to separate and our life wasn't going so well. Financially we were fine but we were spiritually deprived. we were empty inside. we had returned from living in India for 6 months and were trying to decide which path to take next.

Another friend had recommended this school and we signed our daughter up. This new friend that we had just made, the same friend we had just hugged on Sunday, had begun praying for our family. I didn't know it at the time, but she told me years later. she had seen some of our troubles and prayed.

At the time, I wanted nothing to do with Christianity, I just wanted a good school for my daughter.

I thought the answer was to separate from my husband and take 100% control of my life and move forward. God had other plans.

I don't know who all was praying for us, but my friend has told me of atleast two others. But realistically, there were hundreds of others that we had come into contact over the years as a couple and even years before that as just myself.

and then there was my daughter. people prayed for her too.

my daughter began to change. she began to blossom. she began to be full of life. I wanted to find out why.

I began to attend the church on Sunday that was affiliated with her school. All of my independent liberal thinking, feminist ideals; left wing idealism, went out the window. my interest in Buddhism and any religion can work for you, dissipated. my heart was crying out for God alone. none of my beliefs suddenly mattered anymore.I gave it all to Jesus. and my life began to turn around. my friend said that she heard the news through others and had been so excited to finally see me several days later. She said that I looked different, I had a glow. the darkness had been lifted.

It's amazing to hear these stories years later, because she had never shared those observations with me, before.

my husband saw the change in me and began coming to the same church and a year later he gave his life to Christ. We began to get counseling and with God's help, saved our marriage.

That was 12 years ago.

We have been through many trials through the years but have always had faith that God was leading us. We keep our eyes wide open now to see what God is doing in our lives.

My friend has been there for us throughout the years. She called me the day she heard our daughter had broken her leg. She showed up with her son and brought a dinner for us. She has come to our children's birthdays and grown with us along side our family. She knew us before with one child and a struggling marriage and now with five children and a solid faith.

That day we saw her on Sunday and my kids gave her a great big hug, she asked about my sweetie and how we are doing. I told her that it is still a great challenge. I am tired and still carrying a weight and responsibility that will never go away.

well, five days later... her 19 year old son died.

we didn't know it was coming. we were talking about my daughter's struggles, when in fact, it was her son, that had needed the prayer. He had a seizure in the night and didn't recover.

we heard the news yesterday. They had three sons and now they have two. one is in heaven.

how can she carry on?

The only comfort she has right now is that God is in control. He has her son. just as God carries my daughter in his protective arms.

It amazes me that we all carry this diabetic burden with our children for us diabetic moms yet tragedy can still sweep down and take another child when we aren't looking. we walk everyday knowing that our child's well being depends on us monitoring, injecting, checking, feeding...yet someone else that doesn't have these worries and burdens can still lose their child too.

Our hearts are grieving right now for our friend and her family as she slowly begins to put one foot in front of the other again.

one prayer at a time.