Tonight is a night for a reality check. It is a night where I talk about someone else's situation so that I can realize JUST how lucky I am and maybe you all can do the same.

More importantly however, tonight is a night where I ask you to pray for another person, a person who is not me; in this case a whole family.

I just found out that a family with whom we are acquainted has lost a son, a 10 year old son. I don't know any of the details yet. All I know is this just happened & that it was absolutely not expected.

Did I mention this post was going to be a reality check? If you haven't yet, hug someone...now.

The boy was a Cub Scout with my oldest son. They were a month away form graduating to Boy Scouts. Last week, they were running and laughing and doing everything ELSE 10 year old boys should do during their Den Meeting.

A boy who my oldest son knows, and just saw a week ago, will not be there next time our group meets. He isn't going to be there to receive the badges he's earned this month, or to bridge over to Boy Scouts.

What will the parents do? Or the siblings? How do they reconcile this?

Wait....WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!?!? Did I just type all that?
This can't be real, life doesn't "just end."

Does it? I mean, I was dead for 2 minutes and here I sit typing a letter to anyone who wants to read it.
Life gets challenged and fights back, right? Bad things happen and then they are fixed or forgotten, RIGHT?

No, bad things happen. People pass, wars start, houses burn. But why? That age old question without an answer.

Here's another question. Would you ask God to stop all of those things? If you could, would you ask God to make us all rich? smart? handsome?

I've talked to friends about the ONE thing I would ask God to change about this world. Sickness? No, too simple. Immortality for loved ones? Nope, that can be a curse as well as a blessing. Riches? No way, too fleeting.

But, children...children should ALWAYS outlive their parents and THAT is what I would ask for.

Why am I sort of aimlessly rambling on about this horrible, horrible news in a blog about recovery?

Well, it gets RIGHT to the crux of this blog.
This goes right to 2 of the lessons I've learned.

1. I AM A VERY LUCKY MAN! I have a great family, and my family does not have to make the decisions, or suffer the realities that come with tragedy like the one I'm relating to you. Bad things DO happen. Things that can never be changed, or explained. For some reason, I avoided putting my family into such a situation. Someday soon, I hope to know WHY & what I am to do with this extra time on Earth.
   
2. No matter how bad your situation, if you look, you can probably find someone who needs help and support even more than you do. My family had a scare. I have to change my lifestyle. I have plenty of bills, a car with a crunched bumper, a house that leaks and squeaks, a baby with a fever (yep 101), and a myriad of other things that make me hold my head in my hands...
   
   ....and in comparison to a SINGLE event that another family must now endure,  this is all absolutely nothing. A man who was asking how I was a week ago now needs more support than I EVER would. God give me the strength and insight to help him through this in any way I can.

There is a family tonight who is enduring sadness that I have only imagined in my worst nightmares. They need support, they need love, they need...

So, I ask you all tonight to say a prayer, think good thoughts, hug a friend or family member. Do whatever you think will send good vibes to this family and help them survive and deal with what I consider the tragedy of all tragedies.

I am sure tomorrow will be a much more uplifting post, assuming I don't write about the nightmares I had tonight.

Good night & (no matter what) God bless