If an image is worth a thousand words. . .

Yesterday, I got a wakeup call about what's really important in life. Henderson County Constable Rick Stewart came to my office to let me know about Danielle, a single young lady who was about to have a baby boy. She went in for a scheduled C-section, something I'm sure they do hundreds of every day. Something went wrong, however, and Danielle passed away. The baby is fine - but motherless. I visited with some of the family late yesterday afternoon, and seeing their grief is the part of pastoring that hurts me the most. For someone who's supposed to always have appropriate words at the right time, there are no words to salve sorrow so powerful.

To reinforce that thought, this morning I got to my email and found this image:

Mrs. Katherine Cathey, spending one last night with her Marine husband, 2nd Lt. James Cathey, killed in Iraq during his first month there. Although you can't tell it from this picture, she's expecting. Shortly after the funeral, she gave birth to James Cathey, Jr., in December 2005. The passion for life is a powerful thing - sometimes we need reminders of how precious life really is.

It caused me to reflect on the stupid post I placed the other day about my stupid laptop. How inconsequential! How small! How silly! I hope you'll join me in praying for Danielle's family as they make plans for her funeral service and decide what's best for her now-motherless son. Pray for the Cathey family as James Jr grows up without his father. Pray for those effected by tragedy and ask for the mercy of the Lord to be upon them.

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