I was starting a happy blog about everything that has been going on lately, but I just got a phone call that changed my mind. I can’t be happy and pretend like nothing is wrong today. A friend’s husband called, and I was surprised to hear from him because usually I just talk to his wife. I asked how he was doing, and his response was “not so good.” As soon as he mentioned his wife’s brother, I knew what he was going to say. Her brother was a soldier deployed to Iraq. He was killed, and she had just been notified. I heard her crying in the background.
I want to help her and her family so badly. I want to make it better, and I know I can’t. I just sat on the kitchen floor and cried. Perhaps it hit me harder than others, because it hits so close to home. In the midst of all this, I wanted to find something to be thankful for. And I am thankful that my friend has her husband in this time. Please pray for my friend and her family, as well as all troops at home and overseas.
this week has been rough all around.
im thinking about you,john,your friend and her family and keeping all of ya’ll in my thoughts & prayers.
im so thankful for our friendship and glad we have each other to lean on in tough times.
As someone who also has a brother in Iraq (who is married with two little babies), it often crosses my mind what it would be like to receive such a call. It’s kind of morbid, but the reality is that every time a soldier dies, someone’s heart-broken family is receiving the call. It’s heart-wrenching even to think about, and impossible to really imagine what it would be like before it has actually happened. But it is encouraging that there are people around for support in the event the unthinkable happens 🙁