Emotions are running high in my community this week. We have experienced the death of some pillars of our community in the last few days, and there is a cloud of sadness as well as rain clouds looming. The rain clouds seem to just add to the mood.
     I visited with a sweet friend from my childhood this week as she brought her father home to be laid to rest. He was in his nineties and had dementia. She still had no idea when she went to bed that night that she would get a call the next morning saying that he had slipped away. Even though she knows how blessed she was to have him for this long, she was not ready to let him go.
     Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a friend in his forties that died very unexpectedly. There was such a sense of shock and disbelief that this young father was gone.
     Yet, another well-known and well-loved man in our town lost his battle with cancer this week. The doctors had told his family that his time was short. He will be greatly missed.
     No matter when or how our loved ones die, we are never ready. If left to us, we think we would have chosen a different time or a different way. As shocked as we are God is not. He is in control.
     Just as there have been rain clouds this week, there also have been a couple of sunny days. Amid all the sadness of this week, it is also a happy, exciting time for our community. It is high school graduation week. My daughter along with her 90 plus classmates will get their long-awaited diplomas on Sunday.
     These seniors deserve their moment in the sun. It’s their time to rejoice and to have their family and friends celebrate with them.
     What has happened in my community this week is nothing more than life. There will always be ups and downs, highs and lows and happiness and sadness. While we have packed a lot of life into this one week, it is a nutshell picture of what happens to all of us. God intended it this way. We have to trust that all our times, good and bad are in his hands and act accordingly.