Look Up

 

This week has been an intense reminder that this world is dark and evil and coming to a brutal end soon. Sunday, a beautiful young woman I loved died. Jaimee had a big impact on my life. Often you hear people say that someone is beautiful on the inside and outside and it's a cute thing to say, but in her case, this is absolutely the truth. Physically, she was gorgeous with long blonde hair and a perfectly sculpted body. Spiritually, she loved Jesus more than anything else and she lived a honeymoon marriage to her husband and she loved her son Oliver beyond words.

I have been devastated about her loss. When she was 18 and I was 22 we met and I loved her like she was a little sister. When we knew we were about to part ways for a long time (she would be traveling around the world and I would be staying in Mexico), we decided to pretend give each other our pinky fingers so we would be forced to mail them back to each other and stay in touch. It was just a silly joke that no one else would understand and we didn't care. We understood and had a strong bond of love and respect for each other.

Jaimee went on to do amazing things in her life. She became a champion ballroom dancer and an actress, starring in two movies. She got married and truly adored her husband, always doting on him like they had just met and still had those puppy love feelings for each other. She struggled to have a baby for many years and when she finally was able to get pregnant and give birth to her son Oliver, she was over the moon in love with him. Her sudden death Sunday stings to my core. I know she is dancing with Jesus now, but I just feel like the lights went out in Nashville where she lived. 

August has been filled with loss. We lost our friend Brad just weeks ago. Friends, family and acquaintances are getting very sick with COVID again. Afghanistan has been a horrible mess with soldiers and citizens being wiped out in bombings. Hurricane Ida will make landfall tomorrow evening in Louisiana and is expected to mark the anniversary of Katrina by being as deadly. Wildfires once again consume our lands in California and Minnesota and beyond.

It would be so easy to cower under the pressure and pain and crawl into a ball in my closet and just cry in the darkness. Actually I did that earlier this week. But that was just my grief and need to let out the sorrow a bit. Today, although I am exhausted and would like to just quit, I will do what I was instructed to do in these days. I will look up. 

And to copy the final words of the Holy Bible: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."