Each September, the weather remains generally hot, yet there are a few days and several mornings where the scent of Fall is apparent. It's a glimmer of hope that relief from the Georgia heat is in the mail, and eventually we will be able to go outside and not be in danger of dehydration. Furthermore, though, September also is an ebenezer - a marked place/time of remembrance - for our family since on September 16th, 2004, Pam Hydrick, Deborah's mother, died of breast cancer in her home.
Most certainly, we still desperately miss Pam. If you have never lost anyone close to you, then it might be tempting to believe that after seven years, one should be 'over' the loss. Unfortunately, that is an unfortunate assumption, for I do not believe that anyone 'gets over' losing their parent/loved one. Does it get easier? Yes, in the sense that life must go on and things change. Does it still hurt? Yes, because we loved her and she loved us.
I will always remember how she immediately made me feel welcomed into their family, and that comfort and peace that she provided for me never ceased from her. As parents, we long for her to be around to teach us what she knew, to help us when we are in trouble, and to know and bless our children. We are left with our memories of her, and it is a true blessing from God that we have so many good memories about Pam. His goodness is still evident in the midst of a terrible and tragic loss in our lives. He is good because Pam is living now without pain or sickness in her body. He is good because He has blessed Deborah with the gift of motherhood. He is good because He did and still grieves with us and sends His Comfort to us whenever we need Him. He is good because He can't be anything else. We are thankful to God for Pam.
We are also thankful for God in the ways He has protected us in the past few weeks. Three weeks ago I started having abdominal pain. Five days later, I was in the ER and found out that I had some rare torsion of an appendage on my intestines. Gratefully, it did not require surgery and it was something that had to work itself out. Two weeks later, I was as good as new!
On Saturday, Deborah was giving a shower at the clubhouse of our neighborhood and I was home with the kids. While in the playroom, Cannon tried to climb up a wooden play kitchen and fell backwards. Unfortunately, so did the piece of furniture, and it landed on top of him. When I removed the furniture off of his body, his entire face was covered in blood and blood was actually coming out of his forehead like a fountain! I ran him downstairs, wrapped him in a towel, and called Deborah. Within fifteen minutes we were in the ER (again) and Cannon was getting cared for. Praise the Lord, he had no head trauma or concussion. He did, though, require three layers of stitches since the gash went all the way to his skull! He is doing well now and will get his outer layer of stitches out at the end of the week.
So, it has been a little wild around here lately, but as mentioned earlier, God has been good.
Clay for the Kirklands
