Words fail me....

I have spent the majority of this morning crying and have slept very little since yesterday. We had a horrible tragedy occur to some neighbors down the street. Please pray for our neighbor down the street, Beth Mann. Beth is about my age and 6 to 7 months pregnant. Last night she lost her husband, Dean, who was only 32. The initial thought is that he had a massive heart attack or possibly a blood clot. We didn't know them except in passing, but I am heartsick after witnessing what happened last night. Jeff and I were coming back in the neighborhood from an errand around 7:00 last night. The street was blocked with paramedics and fire trucks. All of the neighbors were out in the yard, and it was quite evident that something was very wrong. As we pulled over to the side and spoke with some neighbors we learned that Dean had collapsed in the yard. They had been painting the nursery, and he was moving a hutch from the garge into the front door when he collapsed. A neighbor started CPR and 911 was called, but after 15 minutes they had not been able to get a pulse or heartbeat.

Unfortunately, Jeff and I witnessed them working on Dean and him being loaded into the ambulance. We also witnessed Beth's shock and grief, and it is something I wish I had never heard or seen. I can't imagine the pain of being pregnant and knowing that your child will never know her father. Her reaction will surely be imprinted on my brain for the rest of my life. I barely splept last night. As a mother to a small child I guess it just hit very close to home.

Beth is due on Feb. 2 with a daughter who they plan on calling "McKenna". She was admitted last night for observation and sedation, but is home now. The friend I spoke with said she really wanted her to stay overnight, but that Beth was adamant about going back home. In talking with some of her friends this morning I learned that Beth and Dean are from out of state (Ohio and Illinois...I think) and that she lost her mother to cancer within the last couple of years. They are members at First Methodist. The family is just starting to arrive now and it is heartbreaking to watch.

Please pray for Beth and baby Mckenna right now. She is certainly in need of peace that passes understanding at this moment. Pray that she could grow to undersand that God works all things to our good even if we don't understand his ways at the time....and cherish the ones you love. As we learned last night, you just don't know how long you will have with them. Every day is a gift.

(Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV) "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. {9} "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.