Mixed Bag of Feelings

"Rejoice always" 1 Thessalonians 5:16

I've kind of had a mixed bad the last few days emotions-wise; on one hand, I've been up and about, able to go to church, I've enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family, and I've even been able to take a few steps without the aid of anything, cane or crutch. On that last part, I hope my physical therapist isn't going to yell at me for doing that...

On the other hand, and the thing that really is muddling things is the loss that a family that I'm friends with suffered recently. This family is an awesome family, I was blessed to meet them just over a year and a half ago when I was working with Coastlands Consultants at a school in Connecticut. This family just exudes acceptance and God's love to all those around, and meeting them and learning more about them actually moved me to tears while I was there. This family has adopted several children with special needs, and some with extremely severe needs. A couple of the kids they adopted they saved (this is going to be strong, but these were the words that were used) on the way to the dumpster. These kids they saved were so severely handicapped they were unwanted. The child that just passed was only supposed to live an extremely brief time, but they had 12 years with him.

I know this family is grieving for their loss, but also joyful that this little guy is now walking and leaping and praising God now. I haven't really resolved my feelings, but I wanted to write what's on my heart. Please pray for the family as they deal with this loss, but also rejoice for the life he lived, a life that opened many eyes to the love of Christ, and one that enabled this family to share that love with many.