Avery & Bella
I learned last week of the drowning death of one of my girl’s pre-school classmates and it has impacted me deeply. It has impacted all of us deeply. It is especially painful because of the innocence and the vulnerability. It is especially painful because our girls miss their friend. It is especially painful because every new loss forces us to confront the losses of the past and to anticipate the losses of the future.
My only intention is to honor this brief but beautiful life. A life that intersected with the lives of my daughters in the simple playfulness only small children can share. A life that touched me only briefly but, in death, has changed me forever. I am resolved when I say that I am determined to make something of this loss. My fears, insecurities and “playing small” feel so irrelevant in the shadow of a life cut short. I am more determined than ever to confront self-doubt. I am more determined than ever to not let my life go by without doing all I can to suck out the marrow.
And what I know to be true so far is that it is desperately hard to do this. I need help – through accountability, challenge and encouragement. And, through the simple playfulness that only small children can share. I humbly ask for your help. I will return it to you as best as I’m able.
“A bruised reed He will not break. And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.” Isaiah 42
