There's never a good time for bad news

Today, one of my sweet friends received word that her hero of a brother was killed yesterday.
There is never a good time or place to hear those things.

This kind of information is hard to stomach.  It brings up all of those fears and bad thoughts that lurk around somewhere in your head.  I just don't like it.

Over the past 4 years, my hero of a brother has had a tour in Iraq and in Afghanstan.  This fall, he will return to Afghanstan for another tour.  I am so proud of him for serving, but it is so nervewracking to not know if he will be safe.  And now, my little sister is also in the military. Commissioned in May, she is now off to serve...we are still waiting to hear on her orders.  Not knowing that they will be okay, turns my stomach upside-down.  Knowing that every time I see them might be the last time, makes me want to squish them and hide them in my pocket.

Yes, I realize that we are not ever assured of our safety, but we do live in a country where we don't have to worry daily about a car bomb exploding and killing you instantly, or even worse, killing you slowly.  Yet, this is a worry that each of our brave soldiers and many other people have to deal with on a daily basis.  This is what my friends brother had to deal with...not only the fear that it might happen, but also the fact that it did.

It makes me so sad for those people who live in areas of unrest.  As I said earlier this week, I've been reading a few books and they are pulling and tugging and ripping at my heart. Making me want to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves, to give everything I have and move to another country, to love those who have nothing - not even hope.

After receiving this news today, I want to do that even more.  I am so sad for my dear friend, her sister, her mother (I can't even imagine her pain tonight) - their entire family.  It also makes me so sad for others in different parts of the world who live with the fear that this very thing might happen to them.  It makes me sad for the people who do these awful things.  I will never understand what makes a person want to create a bomb and then kill innocent people.  Their heart must be so sad for them to do such awful things.

I understand that for things to change, I must change.  Although I can't end the war and make all human beings happy and kind, I can pray for things to get better.

I can pray for the hearts of those who are hurting.
For the hearts of those who are doing these awful things.
I can get off my bum and work to make a difference.
I can raise my son to love his Heavenly Father and to love others.
Raise him to not live in fear, but to live knowing that God is in control.  Knowing that even when things don't make any sense at all, He is still there.
I can teach him to live life one day at a time; to live each day as if tomorrow might not come.
I can teach him these things by setting an example.
Oh, how I pray tonight that I can set that example for him and for my sweet friend and her family as they realize a life much different than what they knew yesterday...