In God's Word it tells us that we are like vapor...that our time here is 'here and then gone in an instant'. Yet we walk around...at least I do, taking for granted each breath that we take, getting caught up in everyday mundane things. This week is one of those weeks where life hit us, our community, and a very dear family square in the face...and honestly it was somewhat of a sucker punch.
A very dear friend and fellow scout parent had an incident last week where his heart stopped and he was life-flighted to Grant Hospital in Columbus. My husband and I went to visit him this past Saturday. It was hard to see this relatively healthy man lay there in a bed hooked to machines...this man that we had a meeting with the day before...and now here he was lying there clinging to life. If ever there was a time in my life that I "prayed without ceasing"...this was the time. We prayed as a family, I prayed on my own, so many people everywhere praying just for God to grant a miracle and allow Bob to come home and be OK. Sadly, God chose not to answer the way we wanted and sadly he went home to be with Jesus....and though the thought of Bob going to be with Jesus is comforting, honestly we all want him to be here...and it's hard....very hard...accepting God's will, yet watching his wife and three children suffer through all of this. It just doesn't seem fair. I think what is also making this so hard is the fact that he is so young...he's only a few months older than my hubby and I. His family and ours are very similar. They have three kids, so do we. They've only been married a year longer than us. Two of our kids are the same age as theirs. We've been neighbors for years. This all just hits way too close to home and it's truly just not fair...and it's just plain hard. I've been asking a lot of the "Why" questions to God this week. Why take Bob?? Then I was thinking if I was God....Bob would be one of those people I would definitely want on my team.
Bob was one of the good ones. He truly was. A very kind, gentle, welcoming and Godly man...a bit quirky, yet so very smart. Humble, hard working and very much a family man. You could tell how much he loved his wife and kids. He was one of those guys you wanted on your team because He would not only get things done but He truly would do it with excellence. Bob was an expert at "crossing the t's and dotting the i's". Bob was one of those people you just wished you could be like. I don't think I have ever heard anyone speak an ill word about Bob. He was just that kind of guy...a true gem. And one now that I wish I would have gotten to know even more. He was very instrumental in our scout troop. It's truly not going to be the same without him. After all, who's going to walk into the meeting and say, "Hey gang" like he did?? He and his wife were also very instrumental in introducing us to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course and our lives are forever changed because of him and his wife facilitating that. Other than a house payment, our family is pretty much debt free...and it's all because of Bob and Mindy giving us the tools to do so. Thank you Bob and Mindy!
But like I said we aren't even guaranteed our next breath...and this week has truly proven that. So as you go about your "everyday" please take the time to tell those around you how much they mean to you, how much you appreciate them...because the next moment they could be gone, and sadly that is reality.
As I finish this post, please pray for Bob's family if you will...pray for peace and comfort for Mindy, Emma, Ellie and John as they travel through this dark valley. Also pray for Bob's parents and extended family and for the the many, many lives that he touched. Bob is truly going to be missed very deeply.
And as Bob would say....Peace.
1 comment:
Beautiful.
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