If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away...

I never thought I would get a call from my Daddy like I did on Friday morning. To say that I was overcome with grief would be a total understatement. Death is something that I am not a stranger to, however, in my 23 years of living, I've lost too many people that I've been close to-and I'm just going to be transparent here: IT STINKS SUCKS.
Jennifer was one of my closest friends, someone I spent a lot of time with growing up. My first job was with her, and since I didn't have a license yet, my mom would drop me off after school and I would ride home with Jen. We would laugh and talk and have so much fun. Some nights we would go out to eat on the way home, others we went straight to Jr. Pro cheerleading practice. I'll have to say, throughout my life, I have been so blessed to have such a great extended family. There were boyfriend troubles, and friend troubles, and life in general that Jen was there for, and always had good advice-even if I didn't want it.
Her son, Connor, is one of the best "little brothers" that I could ever ask for. When he was younger, he never told anyone any different-I was his "big sis" and if someone ever questioned it, his response was always the same, "she's my sister." To this day, without missing a beat, he still responds to "little brother," and I still answer to "big sis." My heart breaks for him right now. His best friend, his mama, is gone from this earth. While she will always be in our hearts and shine through us, she's not here anymore to talk to, to call, to laugh with, to hug. She was such a great mom to Connor, and raised him to be such an awesome young man. I couldn't be more proud of the man he is today-so sweet and caring, compassionate and loving.
I'll never understand why those we love are taken from us too soon. God knew from the beginning each of our fates, how limited our lives would be, and I fully believe that. However, I don't know that I'll ever understand why some have to go sooner than others.
It's still hard to believe that I won't be able to text Jen anymore, or call her, or Facebook her. I know I'll see her again, and that makes it easier. Please keep our family in your prayers as we spend the week remembering her life and saying good-bye.

Losing A Friend

Friday night I received some of the worst news of my life so far. One of my greatest friends, Steven, or Thor as he was better known by us, died at age 27 of a heart attack. A heart attack. At 27 years old. This is crazy to me. I know that God is in control and is the holder of our lives. But Thor was such a good friend and such a good person. And so young. He had his whole life ahead of him. We worked together at Chili's so I spent a lot of time with him. Especially when we closed together. If we weren't busy we would always sit at table 71 and split dinner and talk about life. We shared our dreams with each other. I knew everything he wanted to do and have in life and he was on his way to getting it all. I never thought that when I saw him on Thursday that it would be the last time. I never thought that I was leaving work Thursday night and he said, "Emmy, ya work tomorrow night? Good, see ya then. Love ya too!" would be the last time I would ever hear those words. I can't sleep because I know sleep will bring another morning that I have to wake up and remember that he's gone. Work and life will not ever be the same without him. I still can't grasp that he's gone. I'm still waiting to get a text saying, "Guys I got ya'll good." But that text will never come. And in the next few days ahead, we will say goodbye to our friend and be left with only the memories that he left on our hearts.

Thor, I miss you so much man. You were always there when anyone needed you. We had so much fun together. I will never forget the fun and goofy times we had together. Just Thursday night we were laughing until our sides hurt over all kinds of things. Have fun up there in Heaven. And I'll see you again when my time comes. I know you're watching down on us and trying to get us to stop crying. You would want us to laugh. But it's hard because it hurts. It hurts knowing that I won't see you at work tomorrow. We won't share 71 together anymore. And you won't talk me into doing some of your closing work anymore. I miss you Thor. And I love ya.

Uncle Bill

Yesterday I lost someone very important to me. Uncle Bill. While I am completely devastated, I know he is in a much better place and not in any more pain. He has fought through a lot, and survived a heart-attack, heart surgery, and then fought a battle with cancer. I'm so thankful for the time that I got to spend with Uncle Bill, while growing up and a few weeks ago when I was in Greenbrier. I will never forget the things Uncle Bill taught me.

Please pray for my family, my Aunt Jean, and me during the next few days.

Prayer Request

At this point, I'm not really sure who all reads this blog of mine, but if you are of praying faith, then please, join me in lifting up a prayer to a friend of mine, Dwight Veon. He and his wife are mourning the going home of their infant son. I do not know a lot of details surrounding this tradgedy, but can only know that they are feeling a world of hurt and pain right now.

Dwight and I became friends when I was in middle school and we both attended the same church camp, Fort Bluff, in Dayton, TN. We kept in touch that summer, but lost touch soon after. It wasn't until recently that I came across his page on MySpace. We've since talked a few times and I found out this morning that his sweet son is now resting in the hands of Jesus.

Join me in praying that he and his wife will find comfort in each other and will lean on each other instead of away from each other. As with any tough situation, it puts a strain on a young marriage. They also have another young son, who is now dealing with the loss of his baby brother. Pray that God comfort that sweet child as well, and give him only the memories of his baby brother and not the circumstances leading to his death.