No Guarantees

I received an email today about a family in our church that is suffering a horrible, tragic loss.  The mom and two daughters were in a car accident, and the mom did not survive the crash.  The oldest daughter has her arm in a cast and has a walking cast on her leg.  The other daughter is still in the hospital and having difficulty keeping food down.  I cannot help but wonder how the daughter will process this accident seeing as how they were able to walk away, but they lost their mother.

I am familiar with this family through our special needs ministry at church that I volunteer with.  The mom and dad loved each other very much...it was quite evident in the way they interacted with one another, and they had their hands full caring for their children.  This leaves the dad caring for their five children on his own, the two daughters and then three younger boys.  Two of those boys are autistic...one being higher functioning and one being lower functioning...neither one being verbal communicators though. They are going to struggle tremendously with this devastating loss.  Don't get me wrong...every family member will struggle tremendously, but for these two, they may not be able to express themselves well.  The youngest child is five and considered "typical".  He was still staying home with his mom during the day because he had refused to potty train yet.  The oldest daughter was also being home-schooled. 

Please cover this family in prayers.  I know they could use all the prayers you can muster on their behalf. 

I am so heartbroken for this family.  It reminds me there are no guarantees in life.  We need to strive to let those around us know we love them by telling them verbally and showing them through our actions.  Please take time to give your children or loved ones extra hugs and kisses today.  Tell them you love them.  Don't wait because life does not guarantee us a tomorrow.