And Now, There's A Hole In My Heart

I lost my uncle today.

It was unexpected, but really, when is death ever truly expected...

I know God has a plan for all of our lives, and as we sat with family and friends, I realized how fortunate we all are to have God in charge. So many things happen that we cannot explain or even begin to comprehend, but God knows what He is doing. My uncle had lived a short 47 year, but wonderful life. He had a beautiful family, amazing friends, and a sense of pride that none of us will ever understand. He was a farmer, and he worked everyday in the fields, as his father had, just as his children will do. I have never been as proud to be in a farming family as I was today. I realized how precious and important they are to one another.

I am saddened for our family to be without my uncle Gerald, but I know God knew what He was doing today. We have had to stop and reflect on life, the beauty of it, and the fact that it is so unpredictable and fragile. Things will never be the same without him, his laughter, his pinches, his jokes, his meanness, his presence. Nonetheless, life still goes on; that is the beauty of it, and my uncle is waiting to see what we will do with it.



My uncle Gerald and I shared a birthday... As I was telling a friend this piece of information and how my birthday would never be the same, he said this:

That, in itself, is a representation of what life is: beautiful, tragic, and timed by a clock we can't read. Your birthday is something more than it was: a reflection of life now.

I love you and miss you already...