You never know what a day holds, even if it seems perfectly normal. Usually, one will think about a million thoughts while going through the dailies; some of those thoughts pertain to the mundane, others pertain to future hopes and dreams, and still others are about the people you know or once knew.  It’s in the moments when a person comes to mind that you just pray for them – at least that’s what I was told by my mom when I was little. I like to take my mom’s advice if I can.

So I did that again today when a person came to mind that I hadn’t seen or spoken with in a very long time. I’ve not been a part of his life for over a year so the thought was truly bizarre and out of the blue.  It also happened today, as it sometimes does, I felt like I needed to give him a call or write him an email just to let him know I was praying (mind you, I like to do this with girlfriends more often; I’m usually really careful with guys – they like to read into things, you know?).  Several times in recent years it’s happened that I’ve accidentally called or written someone at a crucial time.  My friends call it “heavy-duty intuition” or “ESP” because I’ve known things I shouldn’t. Today, however, I was wishing my timing was NOT so good.  It left me in tears.

My friend’s mom died of cancer a couple days ago and the funeral was yesterday. There was no way I could’ve known. He’s only 20 and has three younger siblings; his dad has been a pastor but I don’t know what their family is going to do next.  I offered whatever encouragement I could and later went on a hunt around the house for my mom to give her a hug and tell her how thankful I am for her.

Blogging is usually not a deeply personal pastime for me but I’m deviating for once. Today is one time I was not happy about this strike-without-warning-inside-track gift. I can be extremely grateful, however, for the reminder I received about love, loss, and family.  Every day with the ones we love is a gift. Families tend to be a dysfunctional, disconnected, ornery mess but I hope after you’ve read this you’ll find one of your parents and give them a hug.  You never know what it’s like to lose a family member until they’re gone.