Once again I learned how brittle and harsh life can be. The moment I opened my work e mail I saw the message. The lady that was going to help me present the topic on grief and loss at the conference next week was no longer able to do so due to the severe injuries her daughter received in a skiing accident. Her daughter was looking forward to speaking at the same conference. Her talk was going to be on grief from a sibling viewpoint. Rather than preparing for her talk she is fighting for her life in ICU.
I was reminded how special each day is and how we must not take those days for granted because we simply do not know how long we have to live. Every day there are risks we must take and with each risk comes the possibility of a freak accident that may take your life. You play soccer and you run the risk of concussions. You play hockey and there is the risk of paralysis. Risks are inevitable. Risks are necessary if we are to truly enjoy life. The young lady now fighting for her life loved to ski and she did the thing that gave her enjoyment in life.
The natural tendency for parents is to shelter our kids and keep them from taking those risks. We become helicopter parents and hover around the school just to make sure they are safe. We give them safe things to do rather than give them permission to try risky things that could possibly bring harm to them. The pull to protect our kids becomes even greater when a parent has already lost one child to a sudden death.
There comes a point for every parent to accept the reality that our kids belong to God and He has the capacity to watch them. We cannot be where our kids are all the time and certainly by the time they finish high school we will have less involvement in their lives and must trust that God knows what He is doing with our kids.
My talk on grief and loss will go on as scheduled. I do have one other person who is assisting me with this talk. I ask you to pray for the young woman presently fighting for her life and also for her mom who now has to deal with the emotions of her daughter's injuries..
The natural tendency for parents is to shelter our kids and keep them from taking those risks. We become helicopter parents and hover around the school just to make sure they are safe. We give them safe things to do rather than give them permission to try risky things that could possibly bring harm to them. The pull to protect our kids becomes even greater when a parent has already lost one child to a sudden death.
There comes a point for every parent to accept the reality that our kids belong to God and He has the capacity to watch them. We cannot be where our kids are all the time and certainly by the time they finish high school we will have less involvement in their lives and must trust that God knows what He is doing with our kids.
My talk on grief and loss will go on as scheduled. I do have one other person who is assisting me with this talk. I ask you to pray for the young woman presently fighting for her life and also for her mom who now has to deal with the emotions of her daughter's injuries..
so sorry to hear of your friends daughter. i'll be praying for her. thanks for your writings and sharing of your heart also, Todd. a couple of days ago, i received a call from a very close friend that her baby passed away in the night. there is nothing you can say. i will be directing her to your site in the months to come but for now, i want to thank you for all that you're doing to encourage others that are walking the horrific road that you have had to travel. may God continue to use you and your story in the lives to grant encouragement to others.
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