"Go home and hug your kids"

Most all of us know exactly where we were on 9/11 eight years ago. There's another date that I know Brian and I will never forget. It was 9/12/2002 - a day after the year anniversary of 9/11.

Brian had come home for the afternoon and we were wrestling with Austin on our bed and one year old Lindsey. The phone rings and it is one of the music secretaries from church. Quickly I sense that something is terribly wrong. When Brian gets off the phone, I seek an immediate answer but it takes him a little while to form words. He told me that our friend's 8 year old daughter-Alyssa- had just collapsed and died at Akron Children's Hospital. She had been having flu-like symptoms and the doctor had said she might be dehydrated and they could if they wanted to - take her to the hospital. Within minutes of entering the hospital and saying to her mom, "I don't feel well." She died. (Much later they found out she had a rare heart disease.)

Mary, who was a church music assistant and worked with Brian, was the grandmother and her daughter (Alyssa's Mom) sang on the Worship Team. Brian not only knew them from work and worship team, but we also spent many Memorial Days, Labor Days, New Year's Eves together with this family.

Brian hurried off to the hospital to be with the family. No one can fully understand such a depth of loss if one hasn't before lost a child. There were no words to offer. Brian remembers Sarah (the girls mom) asking for her daughter's clothes and when they handed them to her in a bag, she took them out and just sobbed into the clothes. Brian also remembers Sarah calling her school, where she worked part time, and leaving a message that she didn't know when she would be back to work as her daughter had just died. He remembers hugging Mary in the private room they all were given. So many things and details that are forever in one's mind.

The memory that still gets to me to this day is when Brian was leaving the hospital and Alyssa's Dad looks at Brian and says: "Go home and hug your kids."

"Go home and hug your kids" Don't ever forget how precious our children are to us.

At Alyssa's funeral the Pastor shared a school paper of Alyssa's. She wrote on how the Lord had died for her sins and how she knew Jesus as her Savior. She wrote that just a few days before her death. What a blessing for her family to have that paper.

Brian and I have a little girl who turned 8 years old this past summer. The same age Alyssa was. Eight precious years for us to care for Lindsey. I call her my angel sent from heaven. As I was typing this, Lindsey asked if I could tuck her in. Leaving this post for a moment I go and tuck her in and tell her that she has made my life SO wonderful and how much I love her. She hears this ALL the time so she doesn't sense the "extra" sentiment that I feel as I think back on Alyssa.

I have grand plans for when I'm in Heaven, outside of the obvious hundreds of thousands of years of sitting at the Lord's feet worshiping him, talking another thousand years with C.S. Lewis, I've recently been reading in Acts and have a new found desire to fit in some time with Paul and Barnabas ----well.....I can promise you there will be some Dutch Blitz cards waiting with my name and Alyssa's on it as she royally creamed me in that game as we were awaiting the NYC apple to fall and bring in the year 2000. That little girl owes me a chance to win. :)

Tomorrow I've pretty much filled up my day from morning til night, but I know my heart will be back in Ohio praying for my friends as they will always grieve this side of Heaven and I will never forget to cherish Austin, Lindsey, and Reece as the precious gifts they are and thanking the Lord that He gave them on loan to me to love and raise for the time we have.

Hug your kids! Hug your kids!