Being Thankful

Well tonite was my night to do grocery shopping so on my way I stopped at the post office.
My goal was to be home at 7:30....that is when I arrived at PO. An older lady started chatting with me and it soon turned into a half hour. She was telling me how lonely she is as she lost her husband of 55 years almost 4 years ago now. She looked right at me and said this:
"When your spouse dies, it's like someone takes a chainsaw and cuts you in half....it's like a part of you is gone forever." She literally demonstrated with her hand, drawing a line, down my body. It's not as weird as it sounds. She was very soft spoken, so it really just hit home.

We finally made it out to the parking lot and she proceeded to introduce me to her dog sitting in the car. And I about cried again....The dog was panting very hard, is blind and now deaf. It is 16 years old and she told me he is about to die too. She said she is just not ready to let him go because he also has been such a faithful companion.

I honestly cannot imgaine...I go over and over this in my head the last couple months. What would I do if God took someone I dearly love? How would I react and deal with the loss? Could I still praise Him and shine thru it all like others I know? Last week in the grocery store I saw a woman who just recently lost her husband. I gave her a hug and told her I was praying and she just held on and said, "I just miss my husband so very much." I just read a blog last night about one of the singers of Sealah. They just lost their 4th little girl a couple mths ago, but the mother is still chosing to praise God.

When I got home tonite, I just held Jason close and I think this:
Life is so very, very short. We need to make every minute count. Hold our loved ones closer...
spend more time with our kids playing one on one. Forget the material stuff and draw near to the people in our lives. Pray for the widows/widowers and the parents who have lost their child. And most of all....Focus on God.